


You're a Wizard, Percy

by ArrowheadProductions



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, And Themes, Angst, Best Friends, But Reimagined in a HP setting, Demigods at Hogwarts, Drama, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Follows Some Major Plots of PJO, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gods and Goddesses Do Not Exist, Growing Up, Harry Potter - Freeform, Implied Sexual Content (later), Jealousy, Like not until the 6th or 7th chapter when they're older, Look everyone does the hp au and here's mine, M/M, Major Character Death Later, No Smut, POV Third Person, Percy is a Hufflepuff Fight Me, Teen Romance, There's a New Golden Trio in Town, They're all wizards, This is hella long and I'm not sorry, Through the Years, no HP characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 06:32:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 37,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15657714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArrowheadProductions/pseuds/ArrowheadProductions
Summary: Percy Jackson thought he was done with boarding schools. Hogwarts, he learns, is no ordinary school. Over the years, it becomes clear he is no ordinary boy or wizard.





	1. Year One

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a 7 part story with each chapter being a year in Percy's time at Hogwarts. Later chapters will introduce more characters and more mature themes (not going over the T rating though) as the characters get older. Ships won't really come into intense play until probably the 4th or 5th year (aka when they start to really come into play in the PJ or HP books). 
> 
> The events that take place are streamlining both the HP and PJO books as you can probably tell from this first year, but there will be my own ideas and headcanons mixed in there. This is less about action-driven plot and much more about our demigods having a good old time at Hogwarts and growing up. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!

_~August~_

Percy had been in and out of so many boarding schools that he never bothered to get his hopes up to make one a home. He knew where his home was, but it wasn't safe to be with his mother during the year. Things always… happened around him.

One time, he and his mother were in the supermarket and when she turned her back to pick something off the shelf and turned back, baby Percy was floating aimlessly through the air.

Another time, she took him to swimming lessons at the local pool in the summer. He was about 6 years old and while she was talking to the lifeguard, he managed to slip into the water unnoticed. A minute or so later to everyone’s confusion, Percy was discovered smiling and waving from the bottom of the pool… Breathing.

At his 3rd boarding school he once exploded the plumbing system after having his head shoved into a toilet by an older boy. He got expelled.

So, he was different and for a while, they had no idea what that meant. He didn't have many friends, none that lasted very long anyway. Some catastrophic and absurd event that surrounded him always ruined it. His mom always tried to be patient, but he could see that it was wearing on her. On his 11th birthday, he received a letter detailing that he wasn't weird or troubled at all, but magical. He never met his father, but it made him wonder...

Could he be magical too?

They followed the instructions given to him, no matter how odd they seemed. He got a ton of school supplies, but they weren’t pencils or paper. Instead, they was cauldrons, robes, a broomstick, and most impressively, a wand.

His mother waited outside when he went into the place called "Ollivander's". Percy didn't think picking a stick to wave around should have been an ornate series of tasks, but he was glad to be wrong. When he came in contact with the _right_ wand (after a dreadful series of wrong ones), he felt something connect in his soul. He ended up with a 10" Mahogany Mermaid's Tail. He especially liked the fish symbols that were carved into the smooth handle. 

He called it ‘Riptide’.

 

* * *

 

_~September~_

So, his mother drove him to King's Cross. He had to watch (and rub his eyes at the sight of) a few families walk through the wall in between platforms 9 and 10 before he understood what his ticket meant by 9 3/4. His goodbye to his mom was tearful even if he tried to hide that from her and the other kids saying goodbye to their parents. She was clearly trying not to cry too by focusing on the fact that she had a *good feeling* about this school. He just wanted to be with her.

"Don't you want me?" He asked desperately.

She hugged him and kissed his forehead. 

"I love you, Percy. Of course I want you, but more than anything else do I want you to be happy. The only way you can do that is if you find your place in this world. It’s not the same as mine, but that doesn’t make it any worse.”

He knew that if he responded he would have broke down right there so instead he nodded and got on the magnificent red train that was already bustling with passengers. 

***

He didn't wallow on his own sadness or even look back, no matter how bad he wanted to. He was tired of new schools and trying to fit in. He was tired of being the reject and sleeping in a bed that wasn't his own while all of the teachers plotted against him. He tried to focus on his amazing surroundings. Just a month before, he hadn't known about magic. At the very least, it explained the strange occurrences of his life.

And now, he was surrounded by people that were just as weird as him. That should have been a little consoling, but everyone on board had already clumped up with people. The older kids seemed so big while everyone his age looked like babies. He felt very small in this world. There was no way he’d ever belong.

On his way back, he noticed a kid on crutches getting picked on by a pig-faced girl with scraggly brown hair. Her face was red and she looked just about ready to explode, but the boy, no older than Percy, looked terrified.

“I-I’m sorry, Clarisse. Please-”

“-You whine like a goat!” The girl, who was apparently named ‘Clarisse’, said. “Listen here, Goat-boy, if you ever come within spitting distance of me at school, I’ll turn those crutches into snakes and make sure you never walk again.”

The boy whimpered and tried to scurry along, but one of Clarisse’s goons tripped him to make him fall. Some other kids laughed. Anger boiled up inside Percy. He’d gotten into his fair share of fights in school. He never started them, but his strange abilities tended to finish them.

He quickly moved forward to help the fallen boy up. He arranged his crutches against one of the seats and reached out his hands to pull him up. He looked shocked that anyone was trying to help him and even a little apprehensive that this might be a sick joke. He had pasty skin, hazel eyes, and wild curly reddish hair. He looked disheveled, even by Percy’s standards. He had a tie-dye t-shirt on with a big green recyclable symbol right in the middle.

Clarisse knocked his crutches down again while he was trying to get the kid to his feet.

Percy turned to her hotly. “Knock it off!”

The cabin got pin-drop silent as Clarisse narrowed her beady eyes at him. Percy wasn’t even scared.

“I’d be very afraid if I were you, twerp.”

“Why should I be afraid of someone that is so weak, she picks on people who can’t even defend themselves?”

Gasps.

“You saying I’m weak?” She bore all of her teeth and they weren’t pretty. Her breath was hot and it seemed like she was galaxies taller than him. Then again, Percy wasn’t that tall in the first place.

“That’s exactly what I said. Weren’t you listening?”

More gasps.

She held a wand up to his face with her meaty hand. “Why I outta-”

“-Clarisse!” A deep voice caused everyone to turn around. Percy didn’t get what the big deal was about some older kid, but was relieved to have the interference, because it really seemed like Clarisse could take him with or without magic. He was tall and muscular with surfer blond hair and a scar across his eye. He had a green tie untied around his neck, like he’d just been in the middle of getting dressed. Girls around him had wide eyes and flushed cheeks. Boys seemed to straighten and demand his approval.

“Luke.” She said tersely, but some of her anger deflated. She clearly wanted his approval too.

“C’mon, we don’t treat the newbies like that.” He smiled and it seemed genuine. “Hogwarts is supposed to be a place where everyone is accepted.”

She backed away, but not without giving Percy a withering stare that promised this would be continued later. 

The guy, named Luke, walked towards Percy and all of the kids that either egged Clarisse on or watched helplessly, parted like the red sea. Percy wondered what this kid did to earn such high esteem. Whatever it was, he was glad for it.

“What’s your name, kid?” He asked.

“Percy.” He said. “Percy Jackson.”

“Well, Percy Jackson, I like a kid with guts. You should consider taking my defensive elective if you’ve got the spare time.”

“Defensive?”

He smirked, like he was more than glad to explain that was since he was just as impressed with it as everyone else was. “Yeah, the teachers are letting me be a student-teacher of sorts. I’ll teach you how to defend yourself.”

“With magic?”

“With or without.” He winked. “It’ll be fun. Think about it, really!”

“Uh, sure, Luke.” He said and by the way everyone was staring at him in awe, it was clear this conversation was a gift.

Luke sauntered off with some other older and good-looking classmates and disappeared deeper into the train.

“Luke might have saved you this time, Jackson.” Clarisse spat. “But you made the wrong kind of enemy today.”

He didn’t acknowledge that and instead followed the boy he’d saved to an empty compartment. They sat down and the kid immediately pulled out an apple to nervously munch on.

“Thanks for that, Percy, right? I’m Grover Underwood, by the way.” He said earnestly. “Not many kids would have stuck up to _the_ Clarisse La Rue, especially not for me.”

“Who does she think she is?” Percy asked angrily.

Grover sighed. “She’s a second-year who thinks she’s hot stuff just because her dad is a part of the Ministry of Magic.”

“The what?”

Grover laughed as if Percy had told a joke and he felt pretty stupid for not knowing what that was, but how would he?

After a beat, he eventually got the hint that Percy had no idea what he was saying and stopped laughing with a click of his jaw.

“Oh, God. You don’t know. I thought… I thought you were saying that it wasn’t a big deal or whatever… Are you muggle-born?”

“What?” He felt even dumber at this point, but he didn’t seem annoyed.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He said and took another bite of his apple. This time, amazingly enough, he bit a piece of the core and chewed it like it was no big deal. “Muggles are the magical term for “mortals” or “non-magic” human beings. Saying you’re muggle-born means that both of your parents are regular people. It’s cool. There have been loads of muggle-borns that have made a huge difference in the wizarding world. I’m guessing you’ve heard of George Washington.”

Percy didn’t know whether or not it was true to say he was muggle-born. His mom was a regular person by magical standards, but he had no idea who is father was. He figured he could just go with saying he was muggle-born for now.

“Are both of your parents wizards?” He asked.

“Yup.” Grover shrugged. “We’re called ‘pure-bloods’, but honestly, it’s all political and my family has never cared much for politics. I’m more into what’s going on with the earth. When I’m older, I’m going to use my powers to get in the environmental program at the ministry to make a real difference.”

“That’s really cool, man.” Percy said and he meant it. He could see by the look in Grover’s eyes that he was passionate about his dream. He imagined that a lot of people wanted to use their gifts to achieve power, because if wizards were anything like muggles, that’s how it would work. It was nice to see that there were people like Grover who really cared.

“I’m starving. Want to get something off the cart?” He asked. “I owe you.”

He didn’t wait very long for Percy to answer, but he got up and Percy followed. They went to the end of the corridor where a woman pushing a food cart stood. Grover dug into his pockets and pulled out several gold coins. Wizard money was so much prettier than muggle money.

He ordered the lot and the lot was… Well, a lot. There were chocolate frogs that literally hopped, jelly beans of just about every flavor (good and bad), pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes (which tasted akin to chocolate lava cake to Percy), and treacle tart. It was almost too much for Percy, who was known to eat twice his weight sometimes. Grover didn’t seem bothered by the amount.

Percy could more than get used to being friends with Grover.

***

When they got back to their compartment with their sweets, it was easy to fall asleep after such a sugar rush. Percy dreamed of more sweets while Grover could be heard mumbling something incoherent about not wanting to be in the Slytherin house. Percy didn’t know what that meant, since it all sounded like a load of dream-induced nonsense anyway.

When he awoke, he heard shuffling in his cabin. He looked towards the source of the noise to see a girl, already dressed in her robes, on the floor and looking under his seat. Across from him, Grover was still happily dozing.

“Uh, hi?” He said and she startled at realizing he’d woken up.

She looked up at him and from this angle, they were only inches apart. Her eyes were stormy gray and calculating, like she was considering whether or not to yell at him for scaring her, but pretty all the same. Her skin was tan like she’d spent all summer in the sun and her hair fell into long and golden curls past her shoulders. He suddenly felt himself grow cold and clammy.

He didn’t know what he imagined she would say to him. He supposed he expected something along the lines of an apology for barging into his compartment or a comment about how he stuck up for Grover earlier (if she’d even been there- he supposed he would have remembered her).

But he didn’t expect her to say, after much thought and consideration:

“You drool when you sleep.”

It turns out her name was Annabeth Chase and she was a half-blood, which she was more than pleased to explain meant only one of her parents was a wizard. In her case, her mother was a wizard and her father was a mortal. They weren’t together though, and the edge in her voice made it seem she was a little bitter about that, but she continued on at a talking rate that was more than impressive. 

She’d been helping Luke look for the lost frog of a kid named Will Solace. Percy noticed her eyes twinkled a bit when she mentioned Luke’s name. It seemed that was a popular consensus.

She sat with them for a little while, which Percy found out he liked.

“What houses are you guys hoping for?” She asked.

“Anything but Slytherin.” Grover said. “I do not need to see Clarisse La Rue every day.”

“You’ll probably hear her first.” Annabeth rolled her eyes at the distant jabs of Clarisse’s big mouth. “But Luke is in Slytherin, so I wouldn’t mind that. Plus, Slytherin’s are known for being quick-witted and tactical, so that could be good. My mother was a Ravenclaw, though, and above all else cherishes wisdom.”

She seemed pretty smart to Percy, but he didn’t know what qualified as being wizard-smart.

“What’s Luke’s deal? Like… Why is everyone crowding him all of the time?” Percy asked.

“Well, I’ve known Luke since I was seven. He lives down the street from me.” Her cheeks flushed. “But everyone else likes him, because he’s likely the most proficient wizard of this era. He’s a prefect this year.”

“A perfect?”

“Prefect.” She corrected, with an eye-roll, like he’d made the dumbest mistake ever. “It’s a very prestigious position. He’s allowed to enforce the rules and is essentially responsible for our safety as underclassmen.”

“So… Like a hall monitor.” Percy said.

Grover snickered while Annabeth sighed in frustration. It was clear already, that she was going to be doing that a lot.

“Is your head full of kelp?”

“Hey! How am I supposed to know? I’m not used to all of this.”

“It’s called a book, Seaweed Brain. I highly recommend reading one.”

She seemed to care a lot for the structure of Hogwarts and went on to talk about a lot of things Percy had never heard of before. She mentioned the fact that they would be in a castle, for one thing, with moving pictures and shifting stairways. She talked about a sport called Quidditch, where everyone rode broomsticks to try and retrieve a golden orb called the “snitch”. She talked about a boy named Harry Potter, who saved the entire wizarding world years before from an evil wizard named Voldemort, who tried to enslave the muggle world.

While she talked, Grover pulled out a musical instrument known as the reeds and played a quiet tune in the background. Percy just took a moment to realize how much his life had changed already.

“Are you listening?” Annabeth asked after a while.

He snapped back into the conversation and tried to look as interested as possible. He was interested, really. It was just so much all at once. He felt like he was about to wake up from the most vivid dream ever.

When he didn’t answer, Annabeth looked at him as if she was considering him all over again. He briefly considered wiping his mouth of any drool if there was any, but she just sighed and continued on about some of the classes they could take there.

***

When they got to Hogwarts on the little boats, everything was a spectacle. Percy didn’t want to blink to miss a moment of it. Grover was gasping beside him and he imagined he’d seen pictures at the very least.

“The architecture is even more breathtaking in person.” Annabeth said from beside him.

He didn’t know much about architecture, but he had to agree.

Percy couldn’t stop looking up at the floating candlesticks long enough to notice much else, even the grand spread of food in front of him, but he did manage to stumble up to the front when his name was called. When he tripped and fell right in front of the hat, he could hear Clarisse and her gang over at the Slytherin table cackling away.

He decided he really didn’t want to be in Slytherin either. Even if Luke was giving him the thumbs up from his position at the long table.

He was trying to work out the mechanics of the fact that a talking hat was deciding his fate when only the hat’s voice filled his mind.

_“Loyalty. You have many strengths, Percy Jackson, but loyalty is your greatest. Be careful, though, because it can also be a weakness when used against you. This is why I’m putting you in HUFFLEPUFF.”_

Grover was placed in Hufflepuff too, which he was excited about. Annabeth got what she wanted and was given Ravenclaw before the hat was even fully placed on her head. She looked pretty smug too as she went to sit down. She hi-fived a bunch of welcoming kids all dressed in blue ties. Percy always liked blue.

* * *

 

_~October~_

His first month at Hogwarts came and went quickly and it was difficult for Percy to fathom, even merely a month later, that he ever lived a life where he didn’t know about magic. The food, for one thing, was out of this world. It would just appear right in front of him. Hell, he was even able to have everything blue if he wanted it.

“You’re a freak, Jackson.” Clarisse spat in his food while she walked by.

She’d gotten her fair share of revenge jabs in. She took basically every possible moment to embarrass him whether it be slipping Weasley Wizard Wheezes in his pumpkin juice or fixing a charm on his pants to make it look like he peed himself. When she really wanted to piss him off, she’d go for Grover or Annabeth.

Annabeth more than stood up for herself, proving herself to be the most intelligent witch of their age time and time again. She also proved that Clarisse was pretty impulsive and stupid. It was moments like Clarisse’s own charm backfiring on her and her being the one to have green teeth for the day that made him glad he and Annabeth were friends. 

Sure, he got lost every other day due to the changing staircases and the winding halls, but for as vast as Hogwarts was, it never felt hollow. There was always laughter and jokes performed with tricks he and his friends learned, particularly if teachers weren’t looking.

He really liked being part of Hufflepuff. It was teased as the wimpiest house at Hogwarts, which he found ridiculous just because they weren’t as headstrong as the Gryffindors, sneaky as the Slytherins, or brainy as the Ravenclaws. He made many friends from his class like Will Solace, Katie Gardner, Pollux and Castor, Lee Fletcher, and of course, Grover.

That didn’t stop him from befriending people in the other houses either. There was Charles Beckendorf and Silena Beauregard from Gryffindor, Connor and Travis Stoll from Slytherin, and Malcolm Pace and Annabeth from Ravenclaw. He didn’t expect to get along with so many people, but people seemed to naturally gravitate towards him ever since the day on the train. It especially helped that Luke would invite him to pal around with his upperclassmen friends.

He had a real knack for Defense Against the Dark Arts, especially with Luke’s extracurricular training. He was the only first year in the group, which was more than intimidating at first, but he realized he had a lot of strength inside him that he’d never been aware of.

“What’s it like, Percy?” Will Solace asked one day as they all sat across the grass.

“It’s just a bunch of people hanging out mostly.” He answered honestly. “We spar and stuff too though.”

“Percy and Luke are real tight. He’s like your mentor, man.” Grover smiled.

“Just don’t let it go to your head, Seaweed Brain.” Annabeth said. He didn’t get why she called him that, but she always said that was part of the reason. It helped that he was basically obsessed with the water. He did know that she was a little miffed she wasn’t invited to spar with Luke.

Flying made him uneasy at first, but he found himself to be quite good at it. He flipped around quite a bit the first few go’s and even fell about 10 feet onto his back, but after a while, he pretty much mastered it. So much so that he was told he’d make a decent Keeper on the Quidditch team.

He really liked Transfiguration too even if it was hard. Grover was exceptional at this, actually and he marveled at his skill.

His teachers didn’t love him, because he just had that troublemaker look about him, but only a handful really hated him like Ms. Dodds or Mr. D. He considered that a success.

He loved his dormitory. It felt like what he’d imagine living with siblings would be like, except likely more enjoyable than that. Often, they’d stay up late and pass horror stories of the day or stupid jokes.

Overall, things were going pretty great for him.

He accidentally exploded his fair share of things, of course, which Annabeth had a full view to since Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws shared Potions class together with Mr. D. Mr. D looked like he’d much rather be mixing and making wine than he did potions. She rarely let him hear the end of it when he turned the entire room into a cloud of smoke. In his defense, Percy didn’t do well with long and drawn out specific instructions. Annabeth, on the other hand, thrived there. Sometimes, it felt like she thrived even more when she had to explain it all over to him.

He and Annabeth had their first real fight over it, actually. Sure, they bickered 90% of the time they spent together, but never really got mad at each other. Grover grew exhausted of it, as much as he liked both of them, and often hung around a few other Hufflepuff girls instead when things got too tense. This was one of those times.

“Well, that’s 10 more points for Ravenclaw.” Annabeth beamed.

“You don’t have to look so smug every time. I’m gonna fail.” Percy muttered.

Everybody had to sit with their houses, which was kind of a bummer to him sometimes, but right now, he couldn’t wait to get back to the others. He heard that the Ravenclaws spent their lunches doing puzzles and talking in riddles. He had no idea how true it was, but he could see Annabeth spewing on about some architecture book she discovered in the library.

“Every time you do poorly and I have to explain it, I solidify it into my memory, is all. You’re like the best study tool ever.” She smirked.

Percy, who was utterly terrified that he would get sent away from the first place that felt like home for failing first year potions, felt ignited with sudden rage. Yeah, he was frustrated with her, but it felt more like salt in his wounds than anything. He was doing well enough in all of his other classes that it would hurt so deeply if he was kicked out for this.

“You just don’t have to be such a know-it-all.” He snapped. “Not all of the time.”

Annabeth, who clearly hadn’t noticed the seriousness of the conversation until this moment, fired right back at him. “Don’t get mad at me just because you spend all day staring at the ceiling instead of at your book.”

“Do you really think I don’t try?”

“I don’t think you always try your best. I think you give up easily. Actually, I know you give up easily. You don’t even keep your textbook on the right page.”

“Not everyone is perfect like you.”

“I am not perfect! Don’t for a second think any of this comes easy to me.”

“You just drink up looking like it does.”

“And you love throwing a pity party for yourself just because I won’t give you all the answers.” Fire burned in her eyes.

“No, because you try way too hard to be the smartest person in the entire world and why? Do you think that’ll get Luke’s attention?”

That was the worst possible thing to say. He could feel it in the air and knew everyone was watching them. He did leave her utterly speechless for his first time in knowing her, but he regretted it the second he said it. Her eyes were still raging storm clouds, but there was a broken quality to them, like she’d been trying not to cry or hit him.

Instead, she marched away in the opposite direction of the dining room and Percy was left with a mountain of guilt.

***

Days went by where Percy and Annabeth weren’t on speaking terms, which was weird. He’d gotten accustomed to sitting with her in the library while she read and he and Grover played paper Quidditch or when they ended up exploring together. Days turned into weeks and Percy was utterly depressed about the whole ordeal. Just as worse, his grade in potions was plummeting even further.

“I think you should just apologize.” Grover said one night. “I mean, you clearly miss her.”

“I don’t miss her.” Percy shot back quickly. Because he didn’t miss Annabeth. He just missed how well the three of them worked together as a group. He liked having her around and honestly, he liked all of the things she knew.

“Fine, whatever, but you do feel bad.”

“She is a know-it-all.”

“Maybe, but Percy, Annabeth has not had it easy. You know how tough her mother is and _who_ her mother is.”

That had occurred to Percy too. Annabeth’s mom was mean. She’d never admit that, but it was true. Athena was the most famous and successful Auror in wizarding history for apprehending one of the most notorious murderers to date. 12 years ago, a wizard went crazy and drowned a bunch of Hogwarts professors. Athena was the only one able to catch him. She accepted nothing short of perfection. She didn’t even give Annabeth the time of day if she wasn’t reaching top marks. Her father, who she’d been forced to live with, wasn’t much better. He had this new life with new kids and a new wife and didn’t exactly try very hard to include Annabeth. She was like Percy in the sense that this was not her first boarding school.

“Yeah.” He said.

“Plus, you might be better off if you just ask her for help, which I know is what you wanted in the first place.”

***

On his way to do just that, on Halloween no less, an attack on the school occurred. At first, everyone thought it was a lesson gone wrong, but it occurred during the show that the ghosts always put on. Nearly Headless Nick was juggling when a gigantic bullheaded beast stormed through the dining hall and began chasing everyone down.

Most of the first-years were gathered, but Percy knew Annabeth was lingering back at the library, likely avoiding him, and took off in a sprint. He had to get to her and make sure she would be okay.

“Percy, no!” Grover called after him, but Percy trusted his instincts and disappeared around the corner.

He slid down railings and tripped over his own robes a few times before making his way to the library. As expected, Annabeth was just finishing up. She looked less than pleased to see him.

“What the-”

“-I know I’m the second to last person you want to see right now but hear me out.”

“Second to last?” She crossed her arms and cocked her brow.

“Yeah, second.” He said. “Second to the gigantic bull-person that is raging through the corridors right now.”

As if on cue, the monster came bursting through the opening to the library, taking down concrete and infrastructure that normally would have made Annabeth cringe. She was more preoccupied with avoiding death in the moment to give it too much thought though.

“Okay.” She gulped with wide eyes. “Second, it is.”

He was about to make some quick comment about being right for once but was quickly yanked into a run by Annabeth.

“What even is this thing?” He yelled as they dove behind bookshelves and tried to make a break for the exit without being trampled or ripped apart. This thing had eyes as black as night and breath that smelled like garbage. His horns were sharp and his muscles were WWE big.

“A minotaur!” Annabeth shouted back and threw a dictionary back at the thing. “Half man and half bull. It was created in ancient Greek times by the wife of King Minos-”

“Annabeth, as much as I would love to have a history lesson right now, can we please skip to the part where you tell me how we can stop this thing?”

“We? We’re eleven!”

“Yeah, and do you see any professionals lying around right now?”

“Well, why didn’t you bring any?”

He… didn’t think that through.

She rolled her eyes when she realized this. “Okay, Minotaurs are crazy strong.”

“No kidding.”

“One thing that can definitely beat it is, well, itself.”

“Cool, so if we find another big and scary bull, we can have them fight each other?”

“Did you ever see _The Incredibles_?” She asked after dodging another blow.

“Of course.” He said.

“So, you saw the scene where they used the giant robot against itself by impaling it with its own arm?”

Percy hated for a moment that it took a children’s movie for him to understand what she’d been getting at before, but was happy she was more than willing to put it in such terms for him.

“We need a sword or something then.” He said, but his eyes went to the back wall of the library, not far away from the restricted section. Beyond all the property damage that would be consuming for any non-wizard community, an axe hung on display. Why a school for children had an axe on the wall was questionable, but then again, this was the same place that was positioned right next to a forest that was known to have numerous beasts that would surely maim children for breakfast. What they were currently facing, could have very well been one of them.

Without much thinking, which he felt was his specialty, Percy sprinted across the room to the axe.

“Distract him!”

Annabeth turned to the beast, who was currently huffing and puffing like he was ready to take charge at her. Percy was not about to let that happen. He thought for a moment that she was going to perform some kind of spell on it, because that’s what wizards were supposed to do, right?

Instead, she slipped off her cloak and waved it in front of it, taunting it.

There was no way the Minotaur was going to fall for the old matador trick.

Well, it did and Annabeth pulled off her role very convincingly. So convincingly, that Percy was finally able to unhook the axe from the wall (he broke it off, actually) to drag it over to the scene.

“One more time, towards me!” He shouted.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!” He wasn’t, but she couldn’t know that.

She waved her cloak in front of the extremely disgruntled beast one more time and it came charging at her, only to miss the cloak and barrel fairly blindly towards Percy. Using all of his strength, he lifted the axe above his head and sliced one of the horns off cleanly.

The beast howled for maybe a second, which was just enough time for him to throw down the axe and pierce the discarded horn right through its chest. Annabeth watched in a combination of horror and relief as Percy had been thoroughly dowsed in blood.

When the Minotaur’s gigantic body flopped dead on the hard floor, Percy and Annabeth considered themselves for a moment. They let their breathing return to normal and the fact that they just murdered something wash over them before talking.

“Good job?” She tried.

“You too.” He said and tossed the horn on the floor in disgust. “It was your plan.”

“Right.”

There was silence before he sighed out of frustration. “Luke would be stupid not to notice you.”

Her head shot up. “What?”

He felt his ears growing hot. “I-uh, I mean… It was stupid of me to say you work as hard as you do just to impress Luke, but still, if he doesn’t notice you… That’s on him.”

She stared at him long and hard and for a moment, he thought she was going to storm off again, but she didn’t. Instead, he swore he saw her cheeks flush pink. He wasn’t sure if that was entirely from exertion.

A small smile graced her lips. “Thanks, Percy. I’m sorry I was being annoying about grades and stuff. I do think you could do better though.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“No, I mean that you’re smart.” She smiled bigger this time. “You just don’t know how to study or how to go about potions. Everyone has a subject they struggle in. Let me help you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Helping you will help me anyway.” She said. “I could use the credit as a tutor.”

He smiled too even though he was covered in bull guts. “Thanks.”

A moment later, Headmaster Chiron as well as a slew of other professors came busting through the door in panic that two unaccounted students had been eaten. What they didn’t expect to find was those two students standing over the dead body of the Minotaur, one of which was covered in its blood. It was also weird that they were smiling.

No one knew who let the Minotaur into the castle, but both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were more than happy to get 30 points each for the classmates’ efforts. Percy was just glad things between he and Annabeth were better than ever.

 

* * *

 

_~November~_

Becoming the guy who killed a Minotaur was no small feat at a school like Hogwarts. Suddenly, everyone knew Percy’s name and said it with mixed versions of pride. Kids his age were incredibly impressed while the older ones were surprised he lived. The teachers seemed wary that it might go to his head while the people that already hated him… Well, they hated him even more for it.

“Just because Jack-ass has managed to kill a dumb bull he gets to be the class hero?” Clarisse sneered. “Why don’t we just make him head boy right now?”

“Because the crown would be too small for his big head.” Chris, one of her friends egged her on.

That corner of the Slytherin table howled with laughter as Percy rolled his eyes and kept moving to sit with his friends. Annabeth had gotten her fair share of congratulations too, especially from her table. She’d used her wits over her magic, which was the mark of a true Ravenclaw- understanding what the situation needed.

Her mother even sent her a letter in the mail, which Percy knew she was trying incredibly hard not to cry at. From what he could see, it wasn’t the sweetest thing ever, but it was kind enough. He guessed that when you weren’t used to being told nice things from your mom, every morsel counted.

***

Percy discovered very quickly that he wanted to become a member of the Quidditch team. He also discovered that rivalries brewed deeper during Quidditch season. The Gryffindors and the Slytherins always beat their chests and squabbled the most for attention, but Ravenclaw was a quiet and deadly force that seemed to give them a run for their money. He noticed that Hufflepuff was rarely ever feared, which was a little disheartening.

“We’re underestimated.” Explained Professor Blofis, the History of Magic teacher. “That is a tool neither of the other teams have at their disposal.”

Percy thought about that and decided to store that thought away for later when he and Annabeth debated whether or not Ravenclaw was going to destroy Hufflepuff next week.

Even still, there was something in the air during a Quidditch match. He wasn’t sure whether or not it was the spectacle of the actual sport or the comradery of all of the students, but everyone was lively and full of spirit on game days.

While he was never one for glory nor was he ever the most athletic kid in school, he couldn’t help but wonder if there could be a spot for him on Hufflepuff’s team.

***

Luke worked really hard on Percy during their training sessions. He never quite understood why the older boy saw so much potential in him. Whenever he asked, Luke would just say he saw a lot of himself in Percy. He didn’t get how someone like Luke, who dated a different girl every other week (much to Annabeth’s disdain) could be like Percy, who never even kissed a girl.

“Again.” Luke said when Percy failed to disarm him.

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to learn this stuff until second year.” Percy said. “When I get the basics down.”

At this point, he was covered in sweat and everyone else in Luke’s crew had turned in for the night. They were standing in the middle of the courtyard, trying to fight off the quickly approaching November chill to no avail. There was nothing worse than being hot and chilly at the same time.

“There might not be time for that. You saw that someone let in that Minotaur last month. Who knows what’s next?”

“I thought Headmaster Chiron said they tripled security.”

“That’s just something they say to our parents, Perce.” Luke said. “Again.”

They got back into dueling positions for the millionth time that night. “Why is it important that I learn this stuff anyway? There are way better wizards than me.”

“They’re not like us, Percy. They don’t have…” He trailed off. “They’re not angry like we are.”

“Angry?”

“I could tell from that first day that you were pissed at something.”

“Yeah, Clarisse.”

“And?”

Percy sighed. “Life, I guess. I was tired of feeling like the odd-man out.”

“You and me both. This school? They’re only going to teach you the bare minimum to get you out of here. They’re not trying to prepare you for the real world. That’s where we’re going to be the odd men out again. With the muggles and mudbloods.”

“Mudbloods?”

“-Muggle borns.” Luke corrected hastily and suddenly grew very uncomfortable. “Look, I’m going to turn in for the night. I’m sure you’re exhausted. You’ve been working really hard and I appreciate that. I see great things for you, man, and that’s not just because I took divination as an elective this year.”

Percy opened his mouth to answer, but Luke picked up his things and disappeared around the corridor to head back to the Slytherin common room down near the chambers. He briefly wondered if it was cold down there at this time of year, but thought better of questioning their conversation and ended up going to bed.

Since then, he had a strange feeling that Luke wasn’t just trying to help him be a better wizard, but that he was training him to fight something very specific… Like a soldier.

***

Percy kept his thoughts to himself when it came to Luke. It really wasn’t any of his or anyone else’s business that he was mad for feeling unsafe at Hogwarts. Sure, Percy of all people had the biggest right to feel that way since he came head to head with the actual Minotaur, but he didn’t really feel scared at all anymore. Annabeth seemed uneasy and was always looking stuff up about how someone would get a monster like that into the building.

One day when Percy and Grover were chatting about regular sports (Grover was absolutely fascinated by the idea of baseball), she plopped a huge book down on Percy’s lap without warning.

Which hurt. A lot.

“God, don’t you do any light reading?” He whimpered.

“This is light reading.” She said breezily as she flipped through the pages to find what she wanted before pointing. “A wizard would need the ability of apparition to bring something into Hogwarts as well as a high clearance.”

“So, it wasn’t a student.” Grover said.

“Right you are.”

“But Chiron is advertising it like it is.” Percy said. “Why?”

“I don’t know.” She said gravely. “But I think we should all be very careful who we trust here at Hogwarts.”

Percy was sure not to include that in his letters home to his mom, which he sent weekly. In the beginning, they were daily, because he’d admittedly been more homesick, but now he was well-adjusted and couldn’t believe he hadn’t known these people sooner. She was more than happy for him and was keeping busy with her book she was working on. She’d gotten him an owl in the beginning of the year, which wasn’t as weird of a gift as he initially thought, since most wizards communicated by owl.

He called her ‘Mrs. Oleary’.

***

He definitely thought he would miss home during Thanksgiving. Sally Jackson had this amazing ability to make every piece of food Percy’s favorite color: blue. They would have blue turkey, blue corn, blue mashed potatoes with blue gravy. He loved it.

Hogwarts did give her feast a run for her money though, because the spread was even more delectable than usual. Grover was practically inhaling his tofu turkey (it looked and smelled gross to Percy, but he wasn’t about to judge). Chiron gave a lovely toast and they all cheered to a time of goodwill and thankfulness. For the first time in a long time, Percy felt he had a lot to be thankful for.

 

* * *

 

_~December~_

The Christmas season at Hogwarts made it seem even more magical (no pun intended) than usual. There were lights strewn about throughout the entire castle, casting light in shadows that never usually saw it. The ghosts got incredibly festive. Moaning Myrtle actually hummed Christmas tunes while you peed. A perfect dusting of snow spread everywhere, which created the right amount of chill that the perfect fireplaces combatted.

That and the fact that Hogwarts had the best hot chocolate he’d ever tasted meant that he was positively content.

Travis and Connor Stoll tried to gift everyone with exploding whoopie cushions, but luckily for everyone and their butts, Professor Hestia nabbed them just in time. Despite it being all for folly, it made Percy consider whether or not he should get his friends Christmas gifts. He wouldn’t be there for Christmas, since he was going home for winter holiday like most kids, but it still seemed like the right thing to do. He settled on getting Grover a beanie to rest on his fluffy head, since he was always complaining about his unruly hair.

He figured he definitely owed Annabeth since she brought up his grade in potions tremendously over the months.

He ended up going to Luke, who he actually got a pretty lame snow globe of the Empire State building or helping him train this semester.

“What would you get a girl for Christmas?” He asked.

Luke eyed him carefully. “Did Miranda Gardiner put you up to this?”

“No?”

“Oh, cool.” He grinned. “We’ve only been together for a week. I wasn’t planning on getting her anything too extravagant, ya know? Maybe some flowers or something, but again, it’s only been a week…”

Rumor had it, Luke hadn’t been in a relationship very long ever since Thalia Grace, a former Gryffindor who no longer went to Hogwarts due to complications on her muggle side, broke his heart. Ever since then, it was all short-term relationships and hook-ups for him.

“But who’s the lucky lady?”

“Oh, it’s just Annabeth.”

“Just Annabeth.” Luke scoffed. “She’s not ‘just’ Annabeth, dude.”

“No, but… Like, she’s my friend. She’s not my Miranda Gardiner, if that makes sense.”

“I get what you’re saying. You’re playing the long-game. Respect.”

“No-I-uh- What do you think I should get her, anyway?”

“Get her something she would find really cool. Annabeth is a total book nerd. If I were you, I’d get her a book.”

He landed on getting her an architecture book about the muggle world, because he was positive she’d read every single book in the library about magical architecture. She hugged him when she got it, which was surprising and embarrassing for both of them, but they got over it.

Grover said he’d never take off the hat Percy got him and Percy was pretty sure he was being honest.

***

“What do you mean you’re staying here for Christmas?” Grover asked Annabeth.

“I mean, I’d rather be here than with my father and his real family.”

“You know it isn’t like that, Annabeth. You’re his real family too.”

“But it is.” She said tersely, which usually meant she was done discussing it. She’d clearly given it a lot of thought.

“Won’t you be lonely?” Grover asked.

“No lonelier than I would be there.” She said. “Besides, I’m not the only kid who’s staying.”

“Luke is staying.” Percy said.

She shrugged like she hadn’t considered that. “Is he?”

“So is Clarisse.” Grover wrinkled his nose. “Are you sure you want to spend your break with that joy to the world?”

They glanced over at Clarisse, who Percy actually felt a little bad for right now. Her dad was so busy at the ministry like Annabeth’s mom that he wasn’t ever home to see her. He felt bad for Annabeth and Luke too, because neither had places they wanted to be on Christmas. He wanted to invite them (maybe not Clarisse) to his house without making it sound like he was taking pity on them. He knew that’s how Annabeth would take it, at least. She was very prideful.

“I’ll take my chances.” She said wryly. “Just neither of you do anything stupid over vacation, okay?”

“Who me?” Percy smiled. “Never.”

***

As much as he loved Hogwarts, it didn’t compare to the feeling of getting off the train and diving into his mother’s arms. She caught him too, like he was still little and coming home for the summer. Still, he felt a little guilty for his friends that wouldn’t have this same feeling he was having now.

“I’ve missed you!” She kissed his hair. “You need a haircut.”

“You sound like Annabeth.”

“Ah, the girl from your letters. I need pictures.”

“Mom!”

***

Being home was wonderful. He and his mom ate blue foods, as per usual, watched old Christmas movies, and spent basically all of the time together. He told her about Hogwarts and all of the friends he made and he could genuinely see the happiness in her eyes.

It should have been a perfect trip home until Percy asked a question that had been gnawing on him since he boarded the Hogwarts express back in September.

“Was Dad a wizard?”

“Hm?” His mom asked over her coffee.

“Dad? You know, the other half of me?” He teased. “Was he a wizard like me?”

“I honestly don’t know, honey.”

“Did you know anything about him?”

“Percy!”

“C’mon, Mom, I deserve to know. Who is he? I need something.”

“He was a good man.”

“Muggle man or wizard man?”

“He didn’t have to be a wizard for you to be one, you know.” She said. “I’ve been doing a lot of reading and there are such things as muggle-born wizards, even if they are rarer occurrences.”

Percy had a feeling, for some reason, she was lying.

When he was going through some old photo albums, suddenly and weirdly desperate to figure something out about his father, he found what he’d been looking for. It was a love letter dated from 12 years earlier. He spared himself a lot of the details to preserve a certain image of his mother, but he did catch the name at the bottom.

“Poseidon?”

 

* * *

 

_~January~_

He waited to break the news to Annabeth that the famous wizard that Annabeth’s mother, Athena, gained her notoriety from seizing, was his father. It killed him to keep something like this inside of him, but he pushed through anyway. He trusted Grover with his life but knew the guy would suffer under the pressure of a secret this big too.

How would this be?

His Dad was a wizard all right, but he was a criminal. He tried to act as normal as possible during the remaining days of his vacation, but he just couldn’t believe his mother would be with someone like that. Poseidon was known for murdering 10 men via drowning. According to the news article, he’d somehow doused them all at once with a tidal wave. He was currently rotting in Azkaban.

Percy looked up how easy it was for someone to break out of Azkaban. Evidently, it was very difficult. For this, he was relieved.

He must have been acting strange upon returning, because Grover approached him during transfiguration.

“Dude, are you okay? Are you failing potions again?”

“It’s the second day of classes since break.” Percy said.

“Yeah, and?”

“As much as I appreciate that vote of confidence, no I’m not failing anything. I’m just a little tired is all.”

That answer only worked for about three times before it was Annabeth who approached him this time. This, he knew, would be much more difficult to evade.

“Grover says you’ve been acting funny.” She said. “Everything okay?”

“Of course. Grover is just hyper-sensitive. You saw how he got when he saw the ending of _E.T._ the other day.”

“Maybe.” But he knew she wasn’t finished there. “But you’ve been barely eating or anything and that’s hardly like you.”

“Ever think maybe I’m trying to cut back?”

“You’re 11 and skin and bones as is. If anything, you should be eating more.”

“I’m just missing home a little bit.”

“Really? Because your mom said you were acting strange there too.”

He flashed her a glare. “You spoke to my mom?”

She gave him a look like it was the most obvious decision in the world. “Duh, Grover and I were worried. We spoke to Chiron and we got her address to send an owl.”

“And she answered?”

“Obviously. So, are you going to tell me what’s up or are we going to have to slip you a truth serum or something?”

“Is that a thing?”

She sighed. “Do you pay any attention in actual potions class? Or do you like saving it for me to teach you?”

“Is there a right answer to that question?”

“Percy.” She straightened. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

He huffed out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. I figured out who my father is, okay?”

Her eyes widened. “Really? Your mom told you?”

“I haven’t talked to her about it.”

“Why? You guys are close.”

“Because… She’s been lying to me. She told me she didn’t know he was a wizard and she’s been trying to say she really didn’t know him well at all. Here I thought I was just going to have Daddy issues for the whole leaving me part. Nope, it’s got to be more complicated than that.”

“He’s a wizard?”

“Yeah.” He looked both ways to make sure no one was listening. “Poseidon.”

Annabeth was absolutely still. “Percy…”

“I know.”

“Poseidon killed a bunch of-”

“-Yeah, I _know_ , Annabeth. And I know your mom was the one to bring him in and that’s what got her all of her public glory. This is all stuff I’ve been harping on for the past week. I know that this screws everything up.”

She pursed her lips. “You seem to know a lot.”

“I get it if you can’t be seen around me anymore, okay?” It was only a matter of time before everything about his time at Hogwarts came crashing down.

“Don’t be dumb. You’re not your father.” She said. “You didn’t even know who he was until a week ago.”

“But your mom…”

“Look, all I know is that when it comes down to it, I’ll be siding with you.”

“Why?” He asked.

“Because you’re my friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?”

He didn’t have any, but he did feel slightly better.

***

In spite of the unpleasant surprise of discovering his splotchy parentage, the rest of the month was golden. The air was nippy and dried everyone’s skin out, but the frost tasted fresh in the air and the snow didn’t grow stagnant. Grover slipped a few times on the wet stone flooring, but got his footing after Annabeth thought to layer the bottom of his crutches with rubber grips for traction.

They practiced their charms lessons outside sometimes and hurled snowballs at each other by levitating them. Clarisse got a mouthful of snow from the Stoll Brothers and her face grew so hot that the ice melted right off her face.

They merrily chased each other through the wide hills of snow, drifting as far as the Shrieking Shack at times. Beckendorf and Percy taught all of the purebloods how to play manhunt (they rebranded it ‘witch-hunt’ for the sake of their audience), so they ended up scurrying even farther. Luke dominated the game of course and bewitched a few snowman to assist him. Percy swore he never saw Annabeth any redder than when Luke literally scooped her up and brought her back to the base-camp. For once, she didn’t seem to mind losing.

Grover didn’t play on account of being unable to run, but he was the designated scorekeeper and pretty much everyone did a decent job making him feel included. He was the most hospitable jailkeeper ever.

At an attempt to escape the Slytherins and Gryffindors, who teamed up against the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs in a particularly heated game of witch-hunt one Saturday afternoon, Percy found the perfect hiding spot just on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

“Not sure if this is such a good idea, Perce.” Malcolm said. “I swear I just heard howling.”

“Do you think they stopped playing and just didn’t tell us?” Katie Gardner asked.

Percy was starting to get cold. The snow was a lot less charming when it seeped into your clothes and felt like it was touching your bones. He pulled his hat tighter over his thick black hair and tried to think. They were outnumbered, and it didn’t help that most of the Slytherin side was comprised of older kids. Still, Percy knew he had to do something.

The Forbidden Forest earned its name for good reason. Back in the days where Voldemort was rising again, he would use the forest as a shroud to hide in. Apparently, they used to give children detention there. It wasn’t stupid to hide there in the sense that not even the Gryffindors would dare to tread on the land unsupervised but was stupid in that they could be ripped apart by a monster at any second.

They only had to wait it out a few more minutes before the other team would have to call truce and they could all go in. Percy didn’t like the “wait it out” routine, but nothing seemed strategically sound enough for Malcolm to agree to an attack. They were overpowered and the final three left, after all.

But then, Percy swore he saw a shadow not far into the distance and he couldn’t help the feeling that they were being watched.

“Yeah, we should probably go-”

Out of nowhere, a tall beast popped around the tree they’d been crouching behind. It was hairy and smelled like dirt, but was unrecognizable. Quickly its big arms reached out and yanked Percy, specifically by his feet and began dragging him through the snow. Malcolm and Katie screamed, but valiantly chased after their friend, forgetting about the game in general.

Percy yelled a lot too, which he later regretted when he was suddenly dragged to the Gryffindor and Slytherin’s base camp and in broad daylight, it was clear to see that it was just Luke dressed up. He was laughing so hard his face was pink when he ripped off the mask.

“You… Should… Have… Seen… Your face.” He bent over from laughing. A cloud of air escaped his mouth as hot breath came out frantically.

Everyone, including their own teammates were cracking up too. Percy laid back in the snow, not caring that his hair and whole body was sufficiently soaked at this point.

“I can’t believe this is the kid who took down the Minotaur.” Travis Stoll laughed.

“He seems like he would scream at his own shadow.” His brother added.

“Oh shut up.” Luke straightened. “You screamed when you saw me put it on too.”

“It is a very scary bear suit.”

“It’s yours!”

“Modeled after Clarisse.” Travis and Connor hi-fived.

“You guys are jerks.” Katie Gardner stomped off.

Percy finally rose to his feet for Luke to clap him on the back. “No hard feelings there, Perce. Just had to knock you down a peg. After all, you are still a first year and you have plenty to learn.”

He rejoined Annabeth and Grover, who were also laughing at the spectacle, but had the decency to make it look like they were trying not to laugh.

“How long do you think people are going to be talking about this?”

“Just a few weeks. Months maybe.” Grover said.

“Thanks a lot.”

 

* * *

 

_~February~_

The upperclassmen got ready for Valentine’s day in the most elaborate and nauseating ways. Couples were constantly linked in the hallways for teachers like Ms. Dodds or Professor. Hermes to snap at. He heard that someone actually had their lips cursed shut for the day for making out too much with their romantic partner.

“You hoping for any valentines?” Grover asked Percy one day at breakfast.

Percy was pretty sure they only thing he’d ever be snogging was the pile of French toast currently in front of him. His growling stomach confirmed this theory.

“My mom will probably send me something.”

“Dude, don’t let anyone else see that. You will be mocked. We’re 11, after all.”

“Yeah, I should really be looking at retirement homes or something more useful for my age.” Percy joked. “I don’t really care if people make fun of me.”

“I care and anyway, I don’t really get the deal with V-day. The girls seem to be going crazy for it, though.”

“First years don’t normally participate anyway.” Lee Fletcher shrugged. “My older sister didn’t start caring about Valentine’s Day at Hogwarts until she was a third or fourth year. I reckon about then we’ll care, because we’ll all be synced on our periods.”

Percy choked on his food. “What?”

Lee didn’t even blink, he was so sure he hadn’t said anything wrong. “Yeah, y’know puberty and all that makes you crazy and randy. I don’t see what the big deal is, but if we’re anything like my sister, we’ll care.”

“Uh, none of us are like your sister so much that we’re going to be on our periods.” Grover said. “That only happens to girls.”

Lee turned red. “But… My sister…”

“Is clearly messing with you.” Percy laughed. “I can’t ever see myself caring about something as lame as Valentine’s Day anyway.”

***

Annabeth cared about it, but not for the reasons one would think. She was using the half-day to catch up on some light reading on love potions and was exploring a theory that someone had injected Luke with one as of recent.

“Maybe he just really likes this girl.” Percy said, which was the wrong answer, because her glare was murderous.

“Uh, who would drop him a love potion and why?” Grover tried instead.

She tied and straightened her crisp blue tie. “Because Luke has the makings of being Head Boy when he reaches his seventh year. If someone were to establish a relationship with him now, it would be more likely that she would end up Head Girl. People love it when the Head Boy and Head Girl are a power couple. It’s simple.”

“So, you think that it’s not possible that someone just likes him?”

“Of course, they like him. Who wouldn’t?” She asked. “I just mean that he has never been so gaga over someone before until this mystery girl. Not since Thalia anyway.”

“Why do you care?” Percy asked even if he knew the answer.

“I’m looking out for him.”

“Sure.”

Her gray eyes sometimes had the ability to make any person feel like they were freezing from the inside out.

“What can we do to help?” He said. He wasn’t in the mood to get into a big argument with Annabeth right now. He knew Luke was a sensitive subject because of her crush on him and he didn’t know why it was always so tempting to poke her buttons about it.

“I’m constructing a Polyjuice potion to try and see who this girl is and to make sure her intentions are pure.”

“A Polyjuice potion?” Grover gasped. “How are you managing that?”

She looked at him from the corners of her eyes, smug smile already evident on her lips. “I read.”

“We know.” They both said.

***

So, Annabeth managed to produce an effective Polyjuice potion to transform her into none other than Clarisse La Rue.

Percy winced at the image in front of him. “You look awful.”

“Thanks.” She beamed and it was relieving to know she still had her real voice.

“Why’d you choose to be her, anyway?” Grover asked. “If she finds out, she’s going to kill you.”

“Relax. Clarisse is away for the weekend on an approved trip to see her Father at the ministry. He’s doing some PR conference with my mom.”

“And you weren’t invited?” Percy asked.

She stiffened. “I couldn’t make it. My classes have been keeping me intensely busy and my mother understands that.”

He didn’t have the heart to bring up the fact that she was open enough to being doing this, because he didn’t have a total death wish and even someone as obtuse as him could see that her excuse was purposefully flimsy.

“Won’t people be suspicious that she’s here?”

“Nah, Clarisse isn’t nearly as popular as she thinks, trust me.”

***

It turned out that Luke wasn’t seeing a girl, despite how lovestruck he seemed, but was having extra tutoring sessions with Ms. Dodds. The proof was in the pudding as he seemed to be spending all of his extra time with her. She seemed excited when she was relaying all of this back to Grover and Percy in a private corridor, but something in her voice was still weary, like she was actually worried this time.

“I thought you’d be happy Luke wasn’t seeing someone.” Grover said.

“Yeah.” She admitted. “But he has been acting weird, right?”

She was really asking Percy, who’d been spending the most time with him recently due to training. Training recently had become a lot more aggressive. It didn’t seem to feel like he was being taught how to defend himself anymore, but more on how to win a fight. There was something about Luke’s demeanor too. He seemed totally sure that he was the spark of something greater than what he was teaching.

“He seems really happy lately and I can’t imagine anyone being that happy to spend extra time with Ms. Dodds. Maybe he’s getting ready for his OWLS?”

“Luke will do great on them.” Annabeth said. “With or without Ms. Dodds’ help. He doesn’t even take her classes anymore.”

“That is weird.”

* * *

 ~ _March~_

March was around the time of year when everyone was getting thoroughly put out by the terrible weather. It was wet and sloshy, but still held the same bitterness of previous winter months.

On top of that, classes were picking up since it was technically the last quarter of the school year. He still couldn’t believe time was flying the way it was, but he was irritated that just because he wasn’t going to a muggle school, he didn’t escape the torture that was composing essays.

“If we’re caught, we are so busted.” Grover huffed. “And I really wanted to have a free weekend for a change. The work load has seriously been killing me.”

He and Percy were trying to sneak back into the library, where Percy swore he left his final page of his History of Magic essay. Percy had told Grover he didn’t have to come, but Grover seemed convinced that somehow his presence would be more calming.

It was not. He was fairly sure Grover was just afraid to be caught wearing his farm animal pajama bottoms.

“Relax. We’ll be in and out and no one will know the difference.”

The halls were odd after hours. Sometimes, they could see the ghosts lingering in the distance, which would have terrified Percy less than a year ago, but as long as you stayed out of sight to avoid being snitched on, their presence was harmless. It seemed colder too, which he suspected was due to the lack of buzzing children filling the empty spaces. There was also the obvious lack of light, which seemed strange too.

They did make it to the library fairly unscathed and sure enough, Percy’s essay was sitting on the table where he left it.

“Great, let’s go.” Grover began to turn around.

They both stopped in their place when they heard voices. Familiar voices.

Clarisse La Rue, Ethan Nakamura, and Drew Tanaka all Slytherins of varying ages. They were all whispering rather harshly, like it was an urgent meeting.

Percy quickly crouched under the table and hastily dragged Grover with him. His crutches hit the hard ground with a slight _clunk_ , and everything still. Clarisse and company paused for a second, but then without any other sign of movement, continued with their meeting unbothered.

Clarisse, despite being the youngest, seemed to be leading the conversation and the most threatening.

“We don’t have much time.” She hissed. “He wants the plans to go into motion next month.”

“It’s about time.” Drew huffed. “Finally righting the wrongs of our ancestors.”

“There aren’t many of us left.” Ethan said.

“Yeah and we need to make these dirty mudbloods wish they never came to our school in the first place.”

“Starting with that brat that killed the minotaur.” Ethan chuckled. “He’s too cocky for my liking.”

Clarisse began to cackle. “I’d say the party will more than do, if he survives her. We should invite the Brainiac bitch too.”

“And his mudblood-loving cripple friend.” Drew snorted.

Percy felt his blood go cold.

Grover gripped his arm, whether it was out of solidarity or to restrain him from lunging forward and exposing the fact that they were listening in on this conversation, he didn’t know.

All he knew, was that the Slytherins had something planned against muggle-borns and for some reason, they were planning on targeting him.

They waited about 10 minutes until after they left to make their own escape. They were silent as they walked. Percy kept in stride with Grover and his hands in his pockets. Grover didn’t seem to know what to say either, but after a while, he sighed.

“Chiron won’t let this happen, Perce.”

“The Headmaster lets a lot of things happen.” He snapped.

Grover seemed taken back by this. “He can’t know everything here. If we tell him, he’ll sort it all out.”

“What do you think they’re planning?”

They didn’t have much time to discuss, because Professor Hermes caught them just as they were a mere few meters away from the entrance to their common room.

***

Detention was a bummer in the muggle world. Percy had sat through plenty of detentions due to magical indiscretions that he hadn’t been aware of sooner. He assumed he’d be writing essays or sitting in silence at Hogwarts too. He was wrong, of course.

“They still use this as punishment?” He asked Ms. Dodds as she led them through the Forbidden Forest along with the Stoll Brothers, who were serving their 4th detention that semester.

“It’s usually effective in straightening naughty children up.” She squawked, but her glare was not at Percy for once, but the twins, who were already making the experience out to be a good time.

Grover was shaking pretty hysterically and Percy had to admit that the forest seemed ten times worse at night than during the day. He heard stories of demons and raging centaurs ripping young wizards limb from limb. The guys in his after-school training sessions were very fond of telling these tales and while he knew it was possible they were embellishing, he didn’t like to make assumptions like that at Hogwarts anymore.

“Professor, I know we were out late, but you have to believe us. Clarisse, Drew and Ethan were there too and-”

“-Nobody likes a snitch, Jackson.” She snapped.

He groaned. “But they’re planning to-”

“-NO SNITCHING!” She bellowed. “It’s not Miss La Rue’s fault you were caught out of bed now was it?”

“… No.”

“Then, I don’t want to hear it.”

They walked in silence for a while to the deepest parts of the forest with little light. He didn’t get how someone as calm and kind as Chiron could approve of such a punishment, but it never occurred to him that it might have never been approved in the first place.

The Stoll Brothers took turns hiding behind shadows and trees to jump out and scare Grover. Percy was annoyed about it at first, but after a while, he encouraged his best friend to not be so easily frightened since they pulled the same prank over and over.

The night went pretty uneventful aside from that. They did see a pack of centaurs galloping in the distance, but Dodds didn’t seem so keen on getting too close to them for her own safety. There was a unicorn, which Grover couldn’t get enough of, but also trolls and giants stomping through. Those, he could get enough of.

At the end of detention, just as the sun was beginning to crack into the black sky, Ms. Dodds turned towards all of them.

“Now, children, have you learned your lesson?”

“That you like romantic strolls at night in the moonlight?” Travis asked.

She practically blew steam out of her nose at the response. “Detention. Tomorrow, Mr. Stoll.”

“She definitely didn’t swipe right on you, Trav.” Connor laughed.

“YOU TOO.” She bellowed.

Percy and Grover stayed quiet, which seemed like a sensible decision until she looked at them. Suddenly, her face started to take different form. At first, Percy thought she was just trying to frighten them by performing a transfiguration stunt in front of them, but the breath she released actually grew hot. Also, the twins looked utterly terrified as well.

She looked demonic- even more so than usual. Her gray hair and saggy face was soon replaced by slimy gray skin that was bald and her eyes were black as the deepest parts of the sea without any room for light. She grew about 3 feet right in front of them and curled so she was staring into the deepest parts of their souls. Wings sprouted from her arms, which now looked more like claws than anything else. Her teeth, while never appealing, were now razor sharp and as long as kitchen knives.

A screech erupted from her and it shook the four boys from their frozen horror to go into a full out sprint. Percy quickly turned around, noticing Grover trying his best to hobble away from the approaching threat that was gearing to dive bomb him.

“Go without me, Percy!” He cried.

Percy was not about to do that. The Stoll’s might have been almost a half a mile out of the forest, but he could not abandon Grover to die at the hands of their Transfiguration professor.

Thinking quickly and hopefully, rationally, he gripped his wand tightly and blasted out the first spell that came to his mind. It wasn’t one he’d learned in his classes, but from his tutoring sessions with Annabeth when she mentioned the ways to permanently dispose of a ghost. She’d been asked by Luke and of course, this plunged Annabeth into hours of countless research before she got a formidable answer, but Percy would never forget the look on her face when Luke hugged and thanked her.

He wasn’t sure if this was a ghost, but he wondered if it would have a similar effect.

“SCRUGE!” He shouted and pointed his wand as confidently as possible.

Ms. Dodds, or whatever she’d become in front of him, cackled for a moment, as nothing had happened. Percy had to admit he felt a little deflated at the lack of magic as well, but then, a small flame seemed to light at the demon’s core, right in the center of its chest.

It wasn’t until it was the size of a softball did it notice and begin to scream in agony or fear. Grover seemed pretty terrified too, but Percy raced forward and grabbed his friend’s arm.

“Come on!”

As they scurried as quickly as they could, Percy managed to get one last glimpse at Ms. Dodds while she completely turned to ash in a screaming rage. Finally, a wilting puddle of smoke was left behind and she was sucked into the ground.

 

* * *

 

_~April~_

When the news about Ms. Dodds broke, Headmaster Chiron seemed… exasperated. Percy had never been alone in his office before. It was covered with portraits and paintings of former Headmasters. The most recent, was an older and kind-faced woman that smiled and nodded modestly whenever anyone enter the room.

“I had my suspicions about Ms. Dodds.”

“You did?” Percy asked.

“Yes.” He said.

“But you let her keep teaching and stuff?”

“She could never do something inside of the castle.” He said. “I assure you are all safe within these walls.”

Percy felt it wasn’t the right time to remind him of the Minotaur, but he did anyway.

“Do you think she let the Minotaur in?”

“Maybe.” He said, but he didn’t sound convinced. “It would take incredibly dark magic for something as sinister as what Ms. Dodds became to be allowed within Hogwarts at all. I am curious if…”

He stopped and turned to him to smile. “We are lucky to have someone of your proficiency here at Hogwarts. Where did you learn that charm?”

“My friend Annabeth Chase is the most well-read witch of our age.” He said. “She was helping Luke Castellan with something and that’s where I heard it.”

“Hmm. Very interesting.”

Percy thought it was too, but he felt Chiron knew something he didn’t.

***

Being the kid who killed the Minotaur AND a fury (which Annabeth later defined for him when he told her about the incident) surged Percy to immediate popularity. Evidently, he used a charm that wouldn’t be taught until he was in his fifth year. Even then, kids didn’t necessarily master it. It required a lot of focus, which he normally didn’t have.

Clarisse seemed incredibly miffed by this and tried at every turn to tarnish his newfound popularity with pranks and public mocking. Her lackeys always joined in, but Percy couldn’t find himself to be mad. They were just jealous.

Luke had gone strangely distant from Percy too and Percy felt bad. He knew Luke just wanted to have his heroic moment in the sun. He did the best in class and was marveled by all of the teachers, but he claimed he never actually got the chance to prove to his father what he was made of.

His father was a professor at Hogwarts and apparently gave Luke the hardest time about his academics. It was easy to see that Luke resented him for it. He was the Muggle Studies professor too, which Luke didn’t seem to think held much merit.

“I know you’re probably sick of hearing this, but I cannot believe you took down a fury.” Grover laughed. “Like, I saw it with my own two eyes and I can’t believe it.”

Annabeth nodded sagely. “I’m impressed, Seaweed Brain. You were listening more than I thought you were.”

“I had a pretty good teacher.”

For a moment, it looked like she blushed.

“Still.” She started. “First the Minotaur, then the conversation you overheard of Clarisse, and now this?”

“And it seems it’s all about Percy.” Grover said grimly.

“Something is afoot, and Chiron seems to think so too. I just know that Clarisse and her goons have something planned for this month and we should all be careful.” Percy said.

***

April, incidentally, brought a lot of rain. Pretty much everyone spent all of their time inside the castle, so most were itching to get back home for two weeks for Easter holiday. Percy missed his mom and still wrote her regularly, but something inside him stirred at the fact that she maintained this secret his whole life.

“Going home to see your muggle-trash mom, Jackson?” Clarisse sneered as he was on his way out to the train.

He straightened. There were lines you didn’t cross with him and one of them was against the woman that single-handedly raised him. He didn’t care how angry or disappointed he got with her, nobody disrespected Sally Jackson.

“I think he’s mad.” Ethan cackled from beside her. “His nostrils are flaring.”

“What a freak.” Drew rolled her eyes. “It’s been a while since he’s murdered anything after all. I’d watch out, Clarisse.”

“You guys think you’re hot because you’re pure-blood.” Percy said. “When that’s all you’ve got to you. The world is changing, and your lot isn’t welcomed in the real world.”

“Keep dreaming, punk.” Was all Clarisse said.

Admittedly, he was surprised at the lack of confrontation, and even a little disappointed.

***

His mother had the entire house decked out just as she did for Christmas, only with spring-themed décor. He always admired her determination to keep with the seasons as quickly as possible. It reminded him of Hogwarts in that way, only his mom was even more amazing since she didn’t use magic.

He didn’t plan on mentioning Poseidon on the first night. He just wanted at least one night to be with his normal mother away from monsters or bullies or secrets.

They watched their favorite movies together and he told her fond stories from school and about the teachers he did like.

“Professor Blofis is cool.” Percy said. “But Ms. Dodds was the worst. She turned out to be a bloodthirsty fury.”

“Now, Percy, she couldn’t have been that bad.”

“No, mom, she literally ended up being a bloodthirsty fury.”

The way she was looking at him was wistfulness and pride, but not true surprise. Anyone that really hadn’t heard of magic or experienced it before would have been more bewildered like Percy was during the whole exchange. She seemed excited for him and most of all supportive, but not shocked by any of it.

“Mom, I know who my father is.” He finally said after dinner. It just kind of slipped out with the ease of exhaustion from travelling and her delicious dinner.

She stilled. “You do.”

“Yeah.” He said. “The question is… Why didn’t you tell me that you knew?”

She sighed. “It’s not very safe for you to know, sweetie. Things with your father are complicated.”

“Do you still love him?” It came out like an accusation, because how could she love someone like that? How could she love a mass murderer? What did that say about her or him?

“I used to.”

He relaxed a bit, but she was staring out the window with a hardness that told him there was more to this story and her feelings about it than she was letting him know.

“It’s dangerous for you to know this, Percy. I don’t want you thinking you’ve inherited any darkness from him or that you deserve to try and right the wrongs people believe he committed.”

“I don’t think anyone knows Poseidon is my dad.”

“The Ministry knows.” She said. “It might already be difficult for you to get a job in the wizarding world due to your father’s incarceration status.”

“Aka that he’s rotting in Azkaban.”

“Precisely. Just try to keep your head down about the whole thing, Percy. You are a good person and you deserve to live a good life. This world is very much still yours and I want you to know that in spite of the circumstances, you were still the happiest gift I’ve ever been given.”

Percy wasn’t really mad anymore. Just at Poseidon.

"Do I look like him?" He asked thoughtfully.

She smiled. "You aren't a carbon copy, but he is where you get your black hair and green eyes."

 

* * *

 

_~May~_

The month of April passed without any real drama, which was unnerving to Percy, Grover and Annabeth. The weather was finally breaking and for the first time in what felt like a century, the sun was shining. Percy and Annabeth were utilizing this time to practice for Quidditch tryouts, which they would be eligible for next year. Grover happily watched them fiddle with broomsticks and float above the ground precariously.

Annabeth was going for the Chaser position that would be available on the Ravenclaw team while Percy was gunning to be Keeper. Even still, they practiced every position until they were thoroughly exhausted sans for their trash talking.

“You two are relentless.” Grover sighed.

“Not as relentless as Ravenclaw is going to be when we crush Hufflepuff next year.” Annabeth smirked.  

He sighed and left his two squabbling friends to be alone to their red-faced debate. He knew it wasn’t serious, since they were laughing too, but that what they spoke wasn’t entirely jovial. They both wanted to win.

They went straight to tutoring even as Annabeth ever so eloquently stated that Percy smelled like an ‘unwashed Mountain Troll’. He didn’t think she looked too bad or that she ever did. Her hair was unkempt in a high ponytail that always swished when she walked, but her gray eyes sparkled when she was in an argumentative mood.

He liked her eyes.

He pushed his black hair away from his face, where it always seemed to hang. “Alright, I’ll go shower, but you owe me an explanation on that bone potion.”

Just as he turned around, he ran smack into Luke, who admittedly, he hadn’t seen since returning from Easter break.

“Oh, hey man.” Percy said.

“Hey, Perce.” He smiled. “Hi, Annabeth. I’m throwing a little shindig together for an end-of-the-year/pre-exams celebration. Good for morale and all that. I was wondering if you two would be interested in going.”

“Sure.” Percy agreed. “When is it?”

“Tonight after curfew. Dungeons.”

“We’ll try to stop by.” He tried to sound cool, like he might have some other plans after hours as an 11 year old.

“Nice! Annabeth, do you want to come help set up right now?” He asked. “I feel like it’s been a while since the two of us hung out.”

“Actually, I’m supposed to be tutoring Percy in potions.” Annabeth said.

She didn’t sound disappointed about it either and Percy swore his head almost flew off his neck from turning in surprise. Normally, she’d jump at every given opportunity to hang out with Luke. What was all that about?

Luke didn’t seem very dejected and shrugged. “Alright then, I’ll see you guys later.”

After he left, Percy gave her a weird look, to which she returned with a confused stare.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He said. “So, when do you want to meet up?”

“What do you mean?”

“For the party.” He wondered if she totally just checked out for the past 15 minutes. “So we can go together.”

Her face twisted into a combination of embarrassment and annoyance. “We can’t go _together_.”

Percy was truly at a loss. “Why not?”

“Because…” Her voice was climbing to high levels. “What if someone sees me?”

“Why-” Now he was full out stuttering. “Why would that matter? What’s wrong with me?”

“For starters, you don’t get why going to an upperclassmen party together would lend the wrong impression.”

Now it was his turn for his face to morph into irritation. “Fine, whatever. I’ll meet you there. Why do girls have to make everything weird?”

“Ugh.” She groaned as he walked away. “Boys ruin everything.”

***

“You and Annabeth are going to this party together?” Grover asked.

“Not together.” He mimicked in disgust. “God forbid we give people the wrong idea.”

“People being Luke?” Grover asked.

“I guess so.” He said. “It’s weird though, because she didn’t seem interested in hanging with Luke this afternoon. They would have been alone too.”

“That is weird.” He agreed. “It’s also weird you sound really annoyed.”

“I’m only annoyed because she made it sound like being confused as my girlfriend would be the most insulting and disgusting thing ever. Like, what’s wrong with me?”

“So… You want Annabeth to like the idea of you being confused as a couple?”

He stammered. “No! I just… No!”

“Would you be embarrassed if someone thought she was your girlfriend?”

“Yeah, but not because it’s her, but because… I don’t know. It’s just different!”

Grover smirked. “Yeah, I bet.”

***

The party consisted of very few Slytherins, which Percy thought was weird. Despite the debate earlier that day, Percy did wish he and Annabeth went together. For some reason, the dungeons always creeped him out. Maybe it was because it was hard to shake the natural assumption that dungeons = bad.

When he got to the right dungeon, he was unnerved that Annabeth hadn’t gotten there yet. They had agreed to meet at 11, even if they were arriving separately. She wasn’t the type to be fashionably late either.

He felt a little better when Luke approached him. “Look who joined the party. The Minotaur-killer, the fury-destroyer, the muggle-born God amongst us.”

He sounded drunk, but also a bit envious.

“All of that stuff just happened out of luck.” He shrugged.

“I’m sure.” For a moment, Luke’s face looked hard as stone before melting back into a smile again.

“Uh, yeah. Cool party.” That seemed like the thing to say, even if you didn’t really mean it. In fact, he wasn’t sure who a lot of the people were. None seemed to be a part of Luke’s usual hangout crew. In fact, everyone looked pretty awkward to be there, like they didn’t know anyone.

“It’s a good way to bring people together. Don’t worry about getting caught out either. I am a prefect.” He said. “Even if that doesn’t mean anything really.”

“What? Of course it does.” Percy was wondering if Luke was feeling down due to OWLS or something, but there was definitely something off about the older boy.

“Do you wanna go outside for a minute?” He asked. “I have a last-minute training thing for you. Parting wisdom for the summer.”

“Oh, can it wait? I told Annabeth-”

“-It’ll only take a minute. I promise.” He grinned and he looked like his old self again, but also that he wasn’t taking no for an answer. Percy didn’t want to get kicked out of the party and black-balled at Hogwarts forever either. So, he followed the older boy to another private dungeon. This one was right near the potions classroom and smelled of mildew and must. The party sounded so far away.

“What’s up?” His voice echoed against the empty stone-lined walls.

“They don’t use a good amount of these dungeons anymore.” Luke said, looking all around them in observation. “They used to lock bad students in them.”

“Sounds kinda barbaric.”

“Yeah, but you gotta figure, bad wizards aren’t like bad muggles. Bad wizards can kill everyone in the room in an instant. Muggles can’t do that.”

“You clearly haven’t been listening to the gun debate in America.”

“Still.” He began, ignoring Percy. “It was effective, particularly if the school felt threatened. I don’t think Hogwarts is nearly selective enough when it comes to admitting new students. They take pretty much everyone regardless of bloodline, social class, or record.”

“Isn’t that just… fair?”

“Sure, for the newbies, but refined bloodlines have gotten used to a certain standard and when everyone gets mixed together… Culture changes.”

“I guess.”

“I mean, look at you!” Luke gestured to him. “The picture of impurity and how that can be a dangerous thing.”

“What?”

“I know who your dad is, Percy. I’ve known since the first day of school.” He said and stood in front of the exit. “I wanted to test you to see how dangerous you really are. Turns out, I was right.”

Percy’s eyes widened. “You let the Minotaur in! And Ms. Dodds?”

Luke’s eyes grew dark. “I had help with that one. Let’s just say, I work for a greater order here. Lord Kronos would be impressed with you.”

Kronos?

“But… But why? Why train me?”

“Because you were good.” He shrugged. “And angry. Like me. You hated feeling like a misfit in the muggle world. You hated how every terrible thing that has ever happened to you has happened, because they think we’re freaks. My mother understood the importance of bloodline. The reason she and my father didn't work out was because he always had a soft spot for muggles, even after one murdered the mother of his child! Then, they took Thalia from me. And you don't have a father, because of the muggle world. They deserved to die and he was simply throwing out the trash. We could use someone like you.”

Some of that might have been true enough, but it wasn’t muggles’ fault they didn’t understand wizardry and it definitely didn't sound right to say they deserved to be killed. Luke's resentment towards them now had some motive, but that didn't make it okay.

“I would never join you.” He spat. “Or your group of wizard Nazis.”

“That’s a shame.” Luke tsked. “You could have had the pleasure of torturing the mudbloods and halfbloods into filth with me. Now, I’ll just have to teach you this.”

Before Percy could so much as grip for his wand, Luke fired at him. “Crucio!”

Searing pain rose up inside Percy that caused him to hit the ground with a thud. He’d heard of the unforgivable curses before. He never thought he’d be on the receiving end of one though. It was binding and caused him to convulse as Luke stood over him, a weird look of satisfaction splayed across his usually pleasant face. Everything about this was a living nightmare for Percy, only he couldn’t help but feel this was Luke’s true self. There was no façade here. He was showing what existed behind the mask. The hate seemed appropriate.

The agony grew so intense that Percy literally blacked out.

***

“I think he’s waking up!” He woke up in the hospital wing with fuzzy images of Grover and Annabeth hovering over him.

“Give him some space to breathe, Grover, jeeze.” Though Annabeth was pretty close too.

“Now, now, give Percy a moment to settle.” Chiron’s booming voice took over the entire room and for a moment, Percy forgot why he would ever be there.

When he finally came to his senses, he forced himself to sit up and look around. He wasn’t the only one in a bed and surrounded by people, but he was the only one that had just been conked out. Everyone else seemed to have their senses though a similar jittery quality to them that came as an aftershock to be tortured.

“How are you feeling?” Chiron asked.

“Um, does it make sense to say staticky, sir?”

He smiled warmly. “Yes. The Cruciatus Curse will do that to you. Amazingly, most people would have suffered extreme brain damage from the estimated amount you received. It’s a marvel that you’re up and talking.”

Percy rubbed his eyes and then panicked. “Luke! The other Slytherins-”

“-Got away.” Chiron sighed. “I am so sorry that you had to endure that. We have our best authorities working on tracking Luke and the others down.”

He settled into his bed. “How did you find me?”

“Annabeth came to me in the middle of the night, said she suspected something wasn’t right about the party Luke was throwing.”

Annabeth’s eyes were sad yet relieved. Relieved that they were both alive, but hurt over Luke’s big reveal. He knew it had to be a bummer to find out that the guy she’d been crushing on for all these years ended up being a sadistic bastard that likely planned on torturing her too. Percy was disappointed too.

“I was already suspicious after Ms. Dodds.” She began. “He was so weirdly close with her. I had this terrible feeling that he knew what she was and even worse, that he brought her here. I felt the party itself was in bad taste as an idea anyway and that the guest list was beyond strange in choice. What really got me, was that I thought about how you overheard Clarisse saying something about a party at the library and how I would be invited too. When I left, I saw Clarisse heading down that way too.”

“Clarisse is involved in this too!” Percy said.

“Actually, she came into my office soon after Miss Chase did to tell me what was happening.” Chiron said.

Percy looked to Annabeth and then Grover to confirm this was true. “But… She helped plan it.”

“I don’t think she knew Luke was literally planning on torturing us brain-dead.” Annabeth said.

“Luke mentioned something about a guy named Kronos? Is that name familiar?”

Chiron stilled and tension seemed to build in his broad shoulders. “He was Zeus, the Minister of magic’s father before he was locked in Azkaban for committing mass murder on a muggle town outside of London. He supposedly died in prison, but fused the darkest pieces of his soul together to preserve himself and be able to possess eligible hosts. He chooses people that are dark and susceptible and above all else, powerful. I would not be surprised if Luke is his current host.”

“How do we defeat him?”

The older man laughed. “That is not for you to worry about, my dear boy. There is a prophecy surrounding Kronos and his fate. When that time comes, we will deal with it. Until then, the best we can do is keep our hearts and minds as pure and loving as possible, because it is these traits that something vile and sick as Kronos cannot sustain on. He can only live on terror and coldness.”

Percy nodded. “Can he get into Hogwarts?”

“Not in Luke’s or anyone else’s body. We will be taking intense precautions next term to prevent that from happening. In the meantime, rest. I’d say you’ve more than earned it.”

 

* * *

 

_~June~_

There were no more near-death experiences for the rest of the school-year, though Percy thought maybe his potions final could count as such. He was fairly sure he passed, which was more than a relief and was definitely thanks to Annabeth and her intensive study sessions. Grover joined in on them too, deciding he needed the focus if he wanted to make it through his tests too.

“If I have to hand-write another essay, I might just die.” Percy flopped on the grass next to Grover and Annabeth, who were also basking in the early-summer sunshine.

“You almost died quite a few times this year.” Annabeth pointed out.

“I stand by it.”

None of them talked about Luke. The entire school did enough of that for him. Professor Hermes even resigned from his position out of shame and horror at his son’s actions. Percy couldn’t help but wonder how different things would be if he wasn’t so hard on his son, but then again, Percy wasn’t about to go out and start trying to murder people because of his dad. So, that didn’t seem really fair.

Annabeth tried to seem like she wasn’t heartbroken by the betrayal of her once great friend, but Percy and Grover could see through that. There was this dark horizon, seemingly, and it felt like they certainly hadn’t seen the last of him. All Percy could do was trust Chiron in their safety and try to train to be better.

He did have Luke to thank for all of his training, but he thought back to how he’d been trained to violence instead of the actual skill behind it all. He still had much to learn and wasn’t about to become a magical soldier lost in the mix.

***

Unsurprisingly, Ravenclaw did the best on all of their exams, Annabeth included. Gryffindor got the house cup that year for accumulating the most points. Hufflpuff wasn’t in last this year. Apparently, Slytherin took a big dip when Luke and a bunch of them tried to torture everyone.

He looked at Clarisse a little differently. Sure, she hated his guts and was still a big bully, but she didn’t want him dead or brain-dead for that matter. That counted as basic human decency.

He got misty-eyed at his last night for the year, even if he knew he would be back in September. He would be glad to spend some time with his mom back home, but the friends he made at Hogwarts were going to be his friends for life. He knew that in his bones. Even if he didn’t make it very far due to an evil spirit gunning for him in the body of who he thought was a friend, he had hope. That was something he’d never had before.

Chiron’s commencement speech was poignant and inspiring, as the rumors indicated it would be. This year talked about hope in spite of darkness and how the greatest strengths they had were their diversity. Percy couldn’t agree more.

“It is not who you were born, but who you become that matters.” Chiron said. “Everyone has a place here at Hogwarts and it is our duty to preserve that right. Over the summer, I want you all to think about the people that mean the most to you. I want you to hold them dear to your heart and never let them go. In the end, it is that love that will save you.”

He hugged both Grover and Annabeth goodbye as they got off the train. He promised to write every day, which even if essays killed him, he likely would stay true to that. He couldn’t promise to always have something interesting to say, but he would be counting down the days until he saw them again.

He believed Chiron was right. Luke had so much hate in his heart from feeling scorned and trying to distancing himself above everyone else that he didn't let anyone get close; not since Thalia anyway. He wouldn't let that happen to them. He knew there were great things for them in the future.

It amazed him that for the first time, he saw a future for himself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Year Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Percy's second year at Hogwarts and despite a fairly quiet summer (save for some annoying new parental figures), he enters it to find his troubles are not gone when his best friend, Grover, goes missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! These require a lot of thinking about what to incorporate from PJO and what to take from HP and where to meet in the middle. Anyway, enjoy! Check the bottom for the houses and bloodlines of some of the cast.

_~August~_

His summer was quite dreadful, actually, and not because of the lack of magic. His mother was dating this entitled prick named Gabe Ugliano. The surname was fitting, because Gabe might have been the foulest creature Percy had ever come across. Keep in mind, Percy encountered both a Minotaur and a Fury face-to-face during his first year at Hogwarts and almost lost his life to both of those monsters. Still, he'd prefer them to Gabe. Gabe drank like a sailor, swore like a sailor, smelled like a sailor who was on voyage for 2 months without coming into contact with a bar of soap, and hated Percy. 

To be fair, he hated just about everything outside the realms of poker, beer, and playboy models, but he especially had it out for Percy. He yelled at him, threw stuff at him, and threatened to hit him if he didn't comply. Percy would just look to his mom and she would have this far away expression that told him something was up. She looked like she wanted to help, but couldn't. When he asked her what she could possibly be doing with a creep like that, she avoided the question at all costs.

"Did he brainwash you? Is he blackmailing us? Is this witness protection?" He asked. 

"Don't be silly, Percy."

"Oh, believe me, I'm not the one being silly here." He argued.

Whether Percy liked it or not, it seemed like Gabe was sticking around. So, after being home for a little over two weeks, he made it his mission to spend as little time around the house as possible. It hurt him not to be spending time with his mom, but he knew it was better for his own safety to avoid Gabe. Hell, it was probably good for Gabe too. Percy didn't want to lose his temper and turn him into a pig or something.

He wrote Grover and Annabeth a lot. Grover's letters always came once a week on paper he (proudly) said was made of elephant poop. It didn't smell like elephant poop, which is all Percy really cared about. He'd talk about his cabin in the forest and all 12 of his siblings who were just dying to meet him. Grover's entire family was extremely environmentally conscious and lived like they were basically camping all of the time... With magic. Usually, they swapped weird jokes and excitement about seeing each other again soon. Percy found himself incredibly wistful for school to start, which he never thought he'd say.

Annabeth's letters came twice a week and were scribed on crisp parchment in immaculate cursive handwriting. She didn't like being home very much for the summer either. She hadn't seen her mother once and was forced to be with her father and step-mother, who from the sounds of it, preferred to pretend she wasn't there. She tried not to sound sad, but Percy could read between the lines. She reminded him to stay on top of his summer assignments, which he was thankful for, since he would have forgotten without her. He found himself smiling whenever she called him 'Seaweed Brain' in her letters. It made him miss her and Grover more.

He practiced Quidditch in a wide open field a mile or two away from his house. This was where he ended up dedicating most of his time. Annabeth was the one who gave him the idea, stating that most half-bloods and pure-bloods had the luxury of knowing and experiencing Quidditch their entire lives. Percy was raised like a muggle-born, so it was best he trained as much as possible. He tried to think of it in a more upbeat and fun way than "training", because that made him think of his former-friend, Luke. He didn't like thinking of Luke. It made fire burn in his veins that he could betray them like that and all because he hated the way people were born. Percy thought everyone moved on from that stuff. Apparently, there were still pure-bloods that couldn't let it go. 

The night before he was set to head off to Hogwarts, Percy knew he wouldn’t be sleeping. He was doing his best to not seem too excited to head back to school for his mom’s sake. His leaving meant she would be entirely alone at the flat with Gabe. Still, when he finally did manage to fall asleep in spite of Gabe’s raucous snoring from downstairs, all he could dream about was Hogwarts.

 

* * *

 

_~September~_

Percy was never one to be ready on time for anything. Punctuality was not listed as one of his stronger suits by either himself or friends. The day he was supposed to leave for Hogwarts, however, Percy was ready at the crack of dawn. He never looked more pressed and proper than he did then. He expected his mother to be excited about this, but when she entered his room that morning, she had a pained expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?” He asked immediately.

Instead of answering right away, she sat down on the foot of his bed and patted to the spot next to her. He stayed standing.

“Maybe you shouldn’t go to Hogwarts this year.”

Percy’s ears were ringing and his fists were clenched. After an entire summer of dealing with Gabe and his patronizing and sometimes concerning threats, with no power to do anything in response, Percy had only one thing on his mind to look forward to. He’d been thinking of school where his friends would be ever since he’d met the smelly oaf and saw how he treated his mother.

“Why?”

Despite her insistence at being honest with him after he discovered who his father really was, she still looked like she was holding back with him. She didn’t really want to, but he could still tell. His mom just wasn’t herself these days and that worried Percy more than anything else.

“I don’t think it’s safe for you to go back. You were almost killed three times last year.”

“But I learned how to protect myself. There are always going to be threats, Mom. So long as Headmaster Chiron is there, I’ll be fine.”

She was silent.

“Mom?”

“Headmaster Chiron isn’t there, Percy,” She began. “He’s on suspension because of what happened last year with your friend.”

“Luke is not my friend.” Not anymore, anyway. Never again. Still, he couldn’t focus on that right now. “None of that was Chiron’s fault.”

“The Ministry of Magic makes the rules. I believe that none of this was his fault either. How was he supposed to know that the boy was dangerous? There are so many children at that school. However, I can’t stand the idea of losing you either. Chiron, himself, messaged me and advised you stay away.”

A lump formed in Percy’s throat. Stay away? Chiron would never say such a thing, but his mother wasn’t lying. There was perhaps more to this looming threat and suspension than she was letting on, but it didn’t make him any less mad.

As if on perfect cue, Gabe shouted up the stairs. “Where the hell is my breakfast, Sally?”

“I’ll be right down, honey!” She called.

Percy gripped the wand he had prepared on slipping into his pocket. His knuckles were white and more than anything did he want to turn Gabe into a pig to try and diffuse some of the rage that boiled up inside him. He knew if he did that, his time away from Hogwarts would indefinitely be more than a year. Performing magic on muggles was strictly forbidden and guaranteed expulsion.

“So, what does that mean? You just expect me to go to some regular school where I’m never going to fit in and will never learn how to use my powers?”

“I expect you to trust me.” She simply supplied before disappearing down the steps to presumably make Gabe some eggs.

Despite being able to ward off furies, minotaurs, and strong wizards, Percy felt utterly and hopelessly powerless.

***

2 nights went by and Percy didn’t speak or even really eat much he was so heartbroken that he wouldn’t be able to go back to the best place on earth. God, he never thought he’d feel such a way about a school, but here he was. He scrawled out an owl to both Grover and Annabeth out of courtesy, so they didn’t think he was dead or anything. Maybe it was a little overdramatic, but the idea of going to a regular school made him wish he was dead since he knew it was going to be all of the same mundane slow torture that school was before he knew he was a wizard. It was amazing how quickly life could change.

He came very close to lighting Gabe on fire once or twice. Once, for calling Sally a slew of rude names and the other for threatening her. Percy was promptly slammed against a wall after speaking out and his mother looked so guilt-ridden and torn.

“Why don’t you go back to your school for retarded kids where you belong?” Gabe laughed obnoxiously as Percy stormed up the steps to his room.

He went to bed early like he had been and stared up at his ceiling.

 _So, this is it_.

He leaned over and pulled open the drawer on his nightstand to take out a picture he’d looked at just about every night since he’d gotten it. It was a picture of Annabeth from her trip to the States with her father and step-mother. She was standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial dressed in a blue t-shirt and jeans, jacket tied around her waist. She had this smug glint in her eyes like she’d built the thing, but Percy couldn’t find it in him to be annoyed. She’d sent it to him and Grover with a letter. Percy, thinking himself mighty funny, sent a picture back of him mirroring her pose except with a passed out Gabe behind him.

He imagined her laughing and rolling her eyes at it.

Suddenly, a light tapping came at his window. After a still moment, Mrs. O’Leary cooed softly, confirming that there was, indeed, someone there. Percy slowly rose from his bed and went over to the window, not seeing anyone or anything out of the ordinary. When he turned to walk away, the tapping became a slightly more persistent knocking.

He turned back around, still seeing nothing, but this time, the knocking continued until he opened his window.

“God, don’t you know it’s rude to leave people knocking?” A familiar voice said and suddenly, Annabeth Chase appeared seemingly out of thin air right in front of him.

Percy’s mouth hung open. She was wearing a navy Ravenclaw t-shirt and a pair of shorts while her hair was tied up in a trademark ponytail. In her left hand, was unsurprisingly her wand while in her right hand, she held a Yankees baseball cap. Her gray eyes practically glowed in the streaks of moonlight that lit his room.

“What are you doing here?” He hissed, though he had enough sense to extend a hand to help her through his bedroom window.

“I came as soon as I got your letter!” She whispered and Percy internally groaned when she stood fully straight and she had grown even taller than him over the summer. He suddenly got very self-conscious about the fact that he was still holding her picture and quickly stuffed it in his pants pocket.

“You… You came all the way from Howarts? How?”

“I flew, obviously.”

“Obviously! Annabeth, you came all the way here by broom travel?”

“If you must know, I took my mother’s flying car.”

“Car? We’re 12!”

“Driving flying objects is different than driving in the muggle world, Percy,” She scoffed like he’d just said the dumbest thing ever. “Relax. My plan is foolproof. They won’t even know I’m gone if you’ll just come with me.”

“But… Why? How is this worth the risk for you?”

She looked both ways for a moment, being absolutely positive that they wouldn’t be caught before looking back to him. If Percy didn’t know any better, he’d say her face was pink.

“Because the idea of you not coming back to school is completely preposterous. It just won’t do. You’ll never be able to catch back up after missing a year and are even more susceptible to danger out here in the muggle world without training.”

“And you’ll miss me.” He crossed his arms, feeling smug.

Her face twisted and she punched him in the shoulder. “In your dreams, Seaweed Brain.”

“I still don’t get why you call me that.”

“Now that your dad is Poseidon, it makes even more sense.”

He scowled. “I thought you wanted me to come with you.”

“I do,” She admitted and then her face grew serious. “Have you heard from Grover?”

Percy furrowed his brow, just embarrassingly becoming aware of the fact that his best friend wasn’t with Annabeth. He also quietly noted that he hadn’t heard from him the past couple of days, but he just assumed Grover was busy with starting school or upset with Percy for not coming back. Escaping Hogwarts to show up at Percy’s house in the middle of the night was much more Annabeth’s style than his, but he still figured Grover would be there as she led the charge.

“No… Why? Isn’t he back at school?”

“He never showed up,” She sighed. “His parents say they saw him off.”

“Grover’s missing?”

“I was hoping you’d heard from him,” She swallowed. “Something is happening at Hogwarts and it’s not good.”

“What is it?”

“Come see for yourself.”

He knew his mother would be worried sick about him if he just disappeared in the middle of the night. However, first Chiron was suspended and now Grover was missing? Percy couldn’t take the chance of losing anyone else. So, against his better judgment, he wrote out a note for his mother and hopped into a flying car with Annabeth Chase. In a moment’s time, they disappeared above the clouds and set course for Hogwarts.

***

Annabeth was right about her plan being relatively foolproof. She landed the car where she’d absconded it in Hogsmeade and was even decent enough to replenish any fuel they used. Percy was still in awe of the fact that she was able to maneuver the controls at their age. She had to stretch to use the pedals, but that didn’t matter. They landed before sunrise and right when Percy thought they were sufficiently screwed and unable to get into the castle again, she yanked him into a small cottage on the edge of Hogsmeade. It’d been clearly ransacked and emptied long ago sans for a large portrait painting of a plain-looking girl. Annabeth marched straight ahead and plucked the painting off the wall, revealing a large entrance.

“Brilliant.” He breathed.

“I know, right?” She smiled and led him down the tunnel that took them to the Gryffindor common room. They slowly crept out of there and she helped Percy carry his stuff to the Hufflepuff entryway.

“My mom is going to kill me.” He sighed.

“Not before we find Grover.”

He couldn’t agree more.

Percy was pretty positive that people were going to notice his sudden appearance after not being around the past couple of days of school. Even if students didn’t, teachers were bound to, right? They loved to pick on him and class and watch as he accidentally blew stuff up. It seemed so many people had snuck away to Hogwarts after being forbidden by their parents that it wasn’t completely ridiculous that Percy had done the same. His permission slip had technically been signed anyway, so it didn’t matter.

Annabeth wasn’t wrong about things changing around Hogwarts though. Chiron’s replacement, Tantalus, took a sharp dislike of Percy the moment he laid eyes on him. He didn’t look prim and proper like Chiron or most of the other professors did. Instead, Tantalus resembled an ex-con or someone that Smelly Gabe might lose poker to on a Friday night.

He narrowed his eyes when he saw Percy.

“I’ve heard about your tricks, Jackson. Your tomfoolery might have worked around Chiron, but it won’t work on me. I see you for what you are: a troublemaker.”

Percy swallowed and stayed very still as the old man slunk down the corridors to personally commend Clarisse La Rue on scolding some first years for showing up late to class. Apparently, dunking heads in toilets was as good a punishment as any.

Percy looked to Annabeth, who also looked like she’d been previously holding her breath to wait out Tantalus’ interaction.

“What’s with that guy?”

“I don’t know,” She shook her head, “But rumor has it, he’s been assigned by a very questionable portion of the Ministry since they believe Chiron might be responsible for what’s happened to Luke.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“I know it is,” She said. “I’ve asked around. No one has any idea what’s happened to Grover.”

“His parents haven’t answered me.” Percy said, growing increasingly worried by the minute.

“Which is why I think it’s going to be up to us to figure out what’s really going on around here.”

He liked this side of Annabeth. Yes, she was more prone to sticking to the rules and trying to walk the straight and narrow to achieve success in class. She _loved_ being teacher’s pet and still raised her hand the most in class. However, she was always game to take responsibility to set things right on her own- consequences be damned. She was a bit of a rebel underneath that prim exterior.

* * *

 

_~October~_

Despite trying to keep his ear to the ground, there wasn’t much talk of what happened to Grover. As far as he and Annabeth mutually conceded, the last they spoke to him, he and his family were going on a camping trip before the school term started.

“Why did they go camping? Don’t they already live like they’re camping all of the time? He asked.

Annabeth shrugged as they, for the millionth time, tried to secretly browse the internet to see if there was any public findings of a small, disabled, 12 year old boy. Percy let Annabeth look, because he knew he couldn’t take such graphic news. He, in turn, kept watch, as students were not supposed to use technology at Hogwarts. The professors argued because it was dangerous for wizards to further risk exposure, but Percy was fairly certain that it was just because none of the purebloods had any idea how any of it worked.

“I just wish we knew where to start,” Annabeth sighed.

“There are apparently a few people off the map this year. A lot of parents wouldn’t send their kids back to Hogwarts after what happened with Luke last year. That’s why my mom didn’t send me back.”

Annabeth didn’t say anything, but she flinched and Percy guessed it had to do with the fact that Luke was brought up.

“You okay?” He asked.

She narrowed her eyes at him and closed the laptop she smuggled in to school. “I think that’s enough for the night. It’s getting late and we’ve got Quidditch tryouts tomorrow morning.”

“It’s 8 pm.”

“And you’re probably behind on homework, yes?”

“History of Magic… How’d you know?”

She smiled a little, “Because I know you, Seaweed Brain.”

He was, but he had a feeling that’s not why she stopped their investigation session. He didn’t have the energy to start a fight with her over Luke right now, anyway. He just wanted his other best friend back from where ever he was.

***

Quidditch tryouts weren’t the same without Grover cheering in the stands like he promised he would be. In fact, Percy felt like he was going to simultaneously explode and implode from the stress that was weighing on him.

As if it couldn’t get any worse, the Stoll brothers decided to give him a little pep talk.

“Ay, no stress, Percy!” Connor said.

“Yeah,” Travis nudged his ribs. “Only about 2 or 3 people die from Quidditch per year.”

“Is that in general or at Hogwarts?”

“Hogwarts, of course. Loads of plebs bite the dust since they can’t handle a good bludger to the head.”

“But the worst that’ll probably happen to you under Blofis’ watch is maybe a traumatic head injury.” Connor said. “We play a little softer here.”

“Unless a death eater comes onto the field and tries to eat your face-”

“-You know what, guys?” Percy cut them off. “I’m gonna just go over with the Hufflepuffs if that’s all cool.”

One thing Percy took pride in as being a Hufflepuff was how less intense everyone is. Sure, there was a rumor that half of the seventh years were smoking pot a little too much, but everyone was generally accepting of newcomers and much more laid back than the other houses. Still, Percy got the feeling that his house was tired of coming in dead last every year in both House Cup and Quidditch Championships.

It didn’t help that Hufflepuff had so many openings for spots. This meant that their odds of victory this year were slim. Second years were expected to just be getting their footing of the game and avoiding death. That’s what Annabeth had told him last year, anyway. From across the field, she seemed miles more confident than he did. Her blonde curls were tucked away as her hair was tamed with a French braid. She stood tall and tried to jump on one of the few positions Ravenclaw had to offer. He knew she wanted to be a Chaser. When she caught his eye, she waved at him before turning swiftly back to the captain.

“Relax, if we die, I know first aid.” Will Solace said.

Percy swallowed a lump in his throat.

***

Percy learned very quickly that playing Quidditch with actual wizards was very different than playing by yourself in an open field with nothing other than scarecrows to act as living people. If he were 17, he could enchant them, but he didn’t have such luxuries at 12. Besides, he knew that if tried enchanting anything without supervision, he’d probably turn it into a giant on accident.

He couldn’t very well practice being a Keeper without anything hurdling at him, so he basically tried for being a Chaser and Seeker during the summer. He didn’t consider himself brawny enough to make it a day as a Beater. Clarisse, expectedly, was Slytherin’s ace Beater. In the muggle world, this would be funny to say, but at Hogwarts, it meant she could kick anyone’s ass at any given moment.

Percy did _not_ have the attention span to be a Seeker, but he did make a decent Chaser. He liked the fast-pace of it all and was actually pretty good at getting the quaffles through the hoops. This made the most sense to him anyway, since he always liked playing basketball or football back home whenever people bothered to associate with him. He wasn’t half bad either. The problem there, however, was that he was on the short side. He hadn’t quite hit his growth spurt yet, but that didn’t matter in Quidditch when everyone was hovering off the ground on broomsticks.

It helped his chances that nobody else was really that good. Katie Gardner was going to make a fine Seeker, but that was about it for his year. Will Solace was much more interested in tending to the wounds of those struck with the bludgers, which were many. Percy, himself, got knocked upside the head more than once.

It was by miracle that he made it through the day without a head injury. Then, he might really act like his brain was made of seaweed.

Annabeth made Ravenclaw’s team easily and she looked mighty pleased with herself too. She’s been practicing for this her whole life, to be fair. Percy supposed that had to count for something. He made Hufflepuff’s team too, but that just didn’t generate the same noise.

“It’s nothing personal, Perce,” Beckendorf said, “Hufflepuff hasn’t won a match in years. They just don’t take the game as seriously.”

“They’d rather Hufflepuff on some weed than play, too.” Lou Ellen, a Slytherin, laughed.

“Gryffindor has clinched both the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup for the past ten years… By the looks of our team, I don’t see that changing.” Silena said, “Congrats on making the team anyway, Percy.”

“You basically just had to show up,” Clarisse said snidely as she shoved past them.

***

He didn’t care. He was still excited to even have the opportunity to play the game. Fall felt more like fall with the start of Quidditch, even if it extended throughout the year. His first match wasn’t until the third week in November, so they had a load of practicing time until then, but it just felt good to be a part of something.

“Feels a little less special with Grover not being here,” Percy said to Annabeth after his first practice.

“Yeah,” She agreed. “He would have been happy for us.”

It wasn’t like Grover would have played, but he always loved to talk about Quidditch and how he always rooted for Ireland in the World Quidditch Cup. He and his family would go every single year together as a family. He wondered how Grover’s family was feeling right now.

He and Annabeth were studying for their first major Potions exam of the year. Mr. D still looked at him like he was the very thorn in his side, but it did help to have someone as proficient as Annabeth along for the ride.

At the next table over in the hushed library, a heavy conversation was taking place between two Gryffindors. Both sounded absolutely terrified. Percy wrinkled his brow and looked over to Annabeth, who seemed just as engrossed in snooping as he was.

_“And Tantalus did what?”_

_“He- He turned the girl into a tree… Just like that girl Thalia.”_

_“But I thought Chiron did that and that’s why he isn’t here anymore.”_

_“That’s not even the worst part! I hear he’s trying to reopen the Chamber of Secrets.”_

“The Chamber of-” Percy began to ask out loud, but was cut off by Annabeth’s hand covering his mouth.

_“But I thought they got all that stuff out of there after Voldemort’s last uprising.”_

_“Rumor has it, there’s still a monster down there.”_

Eventually, the conversation dissipated into something else and Percy had a lot more questions than answers. Annabeth still couldn’t quite meet his eyes, but he couldn’t stand being in the dark on something else, so he pushed through the awkwardness as they walked back to their respective common rooms.

“I thought Thalia got sent away because of muggles?”

She frowned, “Who told you that?”

She knew who.

“Right,” She said, but her voice was brittle. “Thalia was seen doing magic in public by muggles. She was trying to save Luke and I from some death eaters that escaped Azkaban. They didn’t want to hear it. The muggles were too relentless in their questions. This is the age of the internet, after all, so people noticed.”

“So, they turned her into a tree?” Percy shrieked.

“Shutup!” She glared. “Do you _want_ all of Hogwarts to hear you?”

They weren’t out past curfew, though it was approaching. Tantalus employed several of his own personal hall monitors to spy on students around every corner. He claimed it was to raise security so nothing like what happened to Luke ever happened again. All it really did was catch people making out and learn embarrassing intel on others. He had yet to be on the receiving end of this treatment, but he knew Clarisse was just waiting for a moment to pounce.

Annabeth sighed as they came up to the Ravenclaw entrance. She turned back to him and there was so much sadness in her eyes that Percy almost regretted asking in the first place.

“Everyone wanted her dead- the ministry, but Zeus is her father and… Well, they made a compromise. The problem is, the tree is dying.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“You didn’t see the Whomping Willow in herbology the other day? She’s wilting.”

“That’s Thalia?”

“Yes. Look Percy, we need to figure out what they’re trying to do with the Chamber of Secrets, because I can tell you this, good stuff does not come from that place.”

She turned to go up the steps to her dorm, but while Percy was feeling brave, he asked one more question.

“Do you think Luke is behind all of this?”

She stopped in her tracks, so he knew she heard him, but she continued going without turning back and Percy knew that this thought had been on her mind since the very start. Annabeth didn’t want to lose anymore friends.

***

He breathed easier when he finally got a letter back from his mother. He’d sent two or three owls since escaping to school and while he took the fact that Sally didn’t show up and drag him home by the ear as acceptance, he still wanted to make sure she was okay.

_Percy,_

_I’m sorry I haven’t written back sooner- things have been a little crazy around here. The book I’ve been talking about and not writing enough about is finally getting published! Gabe and I are going to do a book tour over the winter holidays. He’s disappointed that he’ll be missing his poker buddies, but is elated that there will be beer where ever we go. Plus, he really likes the free food aspect._

_I’m sorry I tried to keep you from a place that so obviously feels like home to you. It’s a little hard for me to see you go to a place where I cannot follow, but I only want what’s best for you and I can see that this is it. Please do your best to stay safe over the year. I see now that while things might not be perfect at Hogwarts this year, it’s a lot safer than home can be for you._

_Love you always,_

_Mom xoxo_

Guilt tugged at his heart at the thought of her being alone with Gabe. She didn’t deserve that and he knew it. He just didn’t understand why she thought she did. He did his best not to let anyone in his dorm see him cry, but he noticed Will Solace purposely turn his head away from him to let him have a moment.

He wrote back and he didn’t include how Grover was missing or how Annabeth’s friend has been a tree that some boys pee on for a few years. He hated the distance that was growing between them

***

Herbology was becoming a more hands-on experience than it had the year before, which seemed unlikely until Professor Demeter had them trouncing through the Forbidden Forest.

“Can I just say that the name ‘Forbidden Forest’ is becoming incredibly ironic?” Leo Valdez, a Gryffindor in Percy’s year, said with a heavy sigh. “Since every professor in the school is guiding us through like its Disneyland?”

Percy laughed, because it was true. He’d been through this forest a bunch of times- with professors and sometimes without.

“Why restrain ourselves to the contained vegetation of the greenhouse when we can see plants in their natural environment?” Professor Demeter responded curtly, “Besides, don’t you think it’s appropriate given it’s Halloween?”

Percy had enough scares last Halloween with the Minotaur in the library. Then, he had a nice easter scare with Ms. Dodds aka a fury. Now, Professor Demeter wanted to up the ante somehow? No thanks.

“Now, who can tell me what a Mandrake is?” She asked.

Still, it was a beautiful day and the forest was much less intimidating in daylight than at night. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had class together so it was much larger and rowdier than some of his other classes. He liked the different bunch.

Percy and Leo drifted more to the back of the group, neither quite having the attention spans or desires to keep up with this kind of work. Having class outside was fun and all, but they’d rather be playing outside or practicing Quidditch.

“Are you playing Quidditch this year?” Percy asked.

Leo shook his head, “Nah, but I’d like to at some point maybe. Gryffindors are cutthroat, man. All they care about is beating Slytherin. I’d rather be on Hufflepuff’s team. You guys look like you have a lot of fun.”

“We do,” He agreed. “But I’d like to actually win a match too, ya know?”

“Yeah, I feel that. You guys are kinda looked at as a joke.”

Percy opened his mouth to retort that, when he looked ahead and realized they were alone in the forest. “Uh, Leo?”

Leo looked around too and both were extremely quiet to try and listen for Professor Demeter or any other students, but all they could hear were the distant sounds of the creatures of the forest. Some, scarily enough, didn’t sound so distant.

“What was that?” Leo asked at the sound of a heavy stomp.

“Earthquake?” Percy hoped.

“Never did I ever think I’d hope for that.”

Instead, the stomps and thuds got louder and louder. Both boys drew out their wands, prepared for battle against whatever they were about to face. Percy wondered if every Halloween was going to mean certain terror for him here.

Emerging from the bushes and through the trees, was a giant. Neigh, not a giant, a cyclops, though he didn’t look to be as gargantuan as one would expect. He was about two of Percy, but Percy had always been under the impression that Cyclops’ were supposed to be mountain-ish.

Leo took off running in the opposite direction anyway and Percy followed. They were running as fast as their feet could carry them, hoping to find a clearing, but Percy, with all of his grace and smoothness, tripped over a vined and hit the ground hard. His wand rolled out of his hand and he moved frantically to try and get his shoelaces untangled from the vine.

He was just about to opt out of the options of shoes altogether (despite what he’d heard about bugs in the forest), when the shadow of the Cyclops cast over him.

He slowly turned around to the beast and tried to give him his best withering stare. It failed ultimately when Percy realized the Cyclops was crying.

This made him look even more like an oversized one-eyed baby. He only had a few teeth as well as chubby cheeks, crazy dark hair, and wore a loin-cloth.

“Why you run?” He wailed.

“I- I- I don’t know.” Percy admitted and willed himself to calm down. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know either.” He said. “Me, Tyson. I’m scared.”

“I’m Percy Jackson. Why are you scared?” Percy looked around him. This giant thing was scared? That surely meant something more terrifying was approaching, right?

“My Mommy was taken.”

“Taken? By who?” He tried to imagine anything taking a full-sized Cyclops and really couldn’t, unless it was a giant or a troll. Maybe they could accomplish such a feat. Still, Percy wanted to help the big guy. He looked so helpless and scared. He also felt guilty for instinctually running away from him.

“A bad man.” Tyson’s face straightened. “With a magic stick.”

“A wizard took your mother. What did he look like?”

“Two eyes.”

“Right.”

“So very ugly.”

“Hey!” Percy dignified. “That doesn’t make you ugly.”

Tyson didn’t look so convinced, but didn’t care to before plopping down on the ground in hopelessness.

“I’ll never see my mommy again.”

Percy finally rose to his feet. “Hey, you don’t know that, man. I’ll help figure out who took her and get her back for you.”

“Tried to take me too.”

“So, we’ll need to hide you.” He agreed.

He got detention for running off, but he got Hestia, the groundskeeper, to help shroud Tyson for the time being. If anyone knew the land, it was her. There would be no better person to entrust.

“We’ll keep him in the room of requirement.” She chirped. “It can only ever be accessed by those that truly need it.”

Sure enough, the room appeared.

 

* * *

 

_~November~_

The very next day, Percy rushed towards Annabeth during breakfast, all but dragging her away from her stack of waffles in excitement.

“What’s this about, Seaweed Brain?”

“I’ve got detention, so I can’t wait to tell you later, but I’ve got something to show you right now.”

“You got detention _again?_ Really, Percy? And you wonder why the hall monitors are always hanging over your shoulders.”

“Are you seriously sticking up for Tantalus?”

She looked both ways. “Of course not, but you could do to lay lower.”

“Maybe I could,” He agreed, “But this was worth it.”

They stopped in front of a wall that was shrouded in a tapestry. Annabeth glanced over at the grinning Percy. He looked mighty pleased with himself. He’d been so down ever since Grover didn’t turn up for term.

He hurriedly pulled her past the location three times as per instructed by Hestia the day before.

“Would you let go of my hand?” She finally asked after he kept staring at the wall.

Percy’s face was the color of a firetruck when he released her hand. He hadn’t even realized he’d still been holding it. He tried to do his best to stumble back onto the topic at hand. It was tough when he felt he might just die of embarrassment.

Annabeth, thank God, spoke first, “What am I supposed to be looking at here?”

“The room of requirement,” He wanted to be smug about knowing something she didn’t, but his face was still burning hot.

She’d already moved on though, “You found it?”

“I asked the groundskeeper to help hide something I found in the forest during herbology the other day.”

“Leo Valdez started a rumor that you guys ran into Big Foot.”

“Well… He’s not too far off.”

Slowly, before them, a large door appeared in front of them. He’d seen it the other day, so he imagined he made the same face Annabeth was making. Her gray eyes widened as the door appeared in front of her. Her mouth parted a bit before finally flitting her gaze over to him.

He grinned and led her inside. “Annabeth, meet Tyson.”

He expected Annabeth to be amazed by his great discovery. He imagined her being utterly fascinating by getting to meet a Cyclops. He figured a brain like her would have a million questions for Tyson and would want to know everything about him. She would be more than grateful that her best friend, Percy, was able to _finally_ get her to meet such a marvel. Even more so, she’d be impressed by the fact that this was one step closer to figuring out what was going on with Tantalus.

He did not expect that she’d scream, yank him by his tie and pull him backwards through the corridor again.

***

“He’s nice, Annabeth!”

“He’s a Cyclops, _Percy_. Cyclops are historically violent, evil, and sinister,”

“Yeah, and witches are supposed to be too, right?” He retorted.

“That’s different!”

“How? Grover is missing and a wizard took Tyson’s mother away from him in the middle of the forest!”

“Yeah, probably because she was trying to murder someone!”

“He’s a baby. How can you be so… I don’t have a word for what you’re being, but it’s not right for you to assume that Tyson is going to kill you just because he’s a Cyclops.”

“You’ve befriended him. Oh my God.” She smacked her forehead.

“Annabeth, what if Tantalus is keeping Tyson’s mother along with other monsters in the Chamber of Secrets? What if he’s trying to unleash them? Do you want us to all become a garden of different trees?”

“Look, I don’t doubt that Tantalus is doing something morbid like that. I, of all people don’t want that, but we have to be careful who we trust. My mom has taken down plenty of Cyclops and they’re murderous. They’ve killed entire villages before because they’re hungry. They like to lure wizards into their nests and rip them limb from limb.”

“Some wizards are murderous too, like the one that tried to kill me last spring.”

It sort of sprung from his mouth and when it did, he instantly regretted it.

“You know what? Clearly, you’ve found someone else to investigate with for the day. I hope he doesn’t eat your face off.”

“Annabeth-”

“-No, really. I’ve got Quidditch anyway.” And with a swish and a turn of her ponytail, she was gone.

***

Quidditch practice went fairly well. He and Katie went together, being the youngest members on the team. She was bouncing off the walls about how she couldn’t wait to crush the Stoll Brothers when Hufflepuff faced Slytherin.

“They keep saying nonsense about how Hufflepuffs can’t do anything.”

“People really aren’t intimidated by us.” Percy admitted.

Practice was great. They mostly just tossed the ball around and had a lot of fun. It wasn’t Percy’s place to make things stricter though. He wasn’t captain, but it was a little frustrating to see Ravenclaw in the distance, working like a well-oiled machine. Maybe he was just a little miffed because of his fight with Annabeth too.

He just knew he really wanted to beat them come the end of the month. The big Gryffindor and Slytherin match kicked off the season, getting everyone in the ultimate spirit of Quidditch. It was always good fun to watch those houses try to rip each other apart. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff rivalry was always a soothing reprieve afterwards.

***

Percy liked Tyson. Tyson didn’t drone on and on about architecture or call him names or outsmart him at every turn or smell like lemons or have a really contagious laugh. Sure, he didn’t understand half of what Percy said if he talked too fast or overcomplicated anything…

Oh God, was Percy like Tyson to Annabeth?

He couldn’t think of that. Instead, he wanted to find out as much as he could about Tyson’s mother’s kidnapper.

“So, what about your dad?” Percy brought Tyson a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. If he hadn’t pissed Annabeth off, he might have been able to ask her about what a Cyclops’ diet usually consisted of, but instead he had to fly freestyle.

“Never met my dad. Not like me.”

“He’s not a Cyclops?”

He shook his head.

“Is he human?”

He shrugged, “Never met.”

“Right, but your mom never told you.”

“Mom not use many words.”

“Yeah, sometimes it’s simpler that way,” He sighed. “I’m gonna show you a picture of the guy who I think took your mom and you can tell me if it was him or not, right?”

“Picture?” Tyson scrunched up his single brow.

“Yeah, like this.” He showed Tyson his class picture from first year. Percy hated it with pretty much every fiber of his being. He didn’t realized you were allowed to move in wizard pictures, so while everyone else was moving and smiling naturally in the yearbook, his looked frozen and tight in time.

“That’s you, Percy!”

“Yeah, and this is Annabeth. You met her earlier.”

“She was pretty.” Tyson melted.

“Uh, I guess.”

“Percy no think she pretty?”

“No, I do- It’s just… I mean, she’s my friend. And she and I are kinda in a fight.”

“Over me.”

Percy sighed, “She doesn’t get that not all Cyclops have to be evil for whatever reason.”

“Cyclops can be mean.”

“I know, but people can be too, man. I’ve been treated really awfully by most things, but that doesn’t mean I hate everybody, right?”

“Tyson good.”

“Yeah, Tyson good.”

***

Percy didn’t see Annabeth during the Gryffindor/Slytherin Quidditch match, still pissed that she could be so judgmental and callous towards Tyson. They had bigger things to worry about here and she was all caught up just because he made a comment about Luke.

Okay, maybe what Percy _really_ hated was how sensitive she was over the Luke topic. He felt awful for feeling awful too, because of course she had every right to be upset about Luke’s being evil. It was probably hard to flip on a dime on a person you cared about for as long as she cared about Luke. Every time he thought about how wistful she was for the guy made pricks of fire scorch under his skin. He didn’t have a name for the gross feeling, but it was easier to be annoyed about the Tyson thing, where he knew he was in the right.

After 14 hours of gameplay, Gryffindor pulled out on top to a roaring crowd. He, personally, didn’t care either way who won in most accounts, but seeing Clarisse La Rue break a broomstick over her knee in frustration was satisfying in its own right.

She must have caught him rooting for Gryffindor, though, because on his way back to his dormitory, he bumped into her and Chris Rodriguez. Both seemed pretty peeved that they didn’t win. Percy could have taken them, but he hadn’t been using the spells Luke taught him last year. Was it out of spite or because some of them were questionable methods altogether? He wasn’t sure.

His pacifism earned him a wedgie and then detention for not having his shirt tucked in- a violation to the new dress code rules created by Tantalus. The best part was? The slip was written by all-star hall monitor-Clarisse. When Percy tried to argue his way out of it, he received another detention for disobeying authority. One more and he had to have a conference with Tantalus, himself, who’d grown especially busy this year from all the conferences with all of the rulebreakers.

***

Detention mostly included doing Tantalus’ chores- without magic. Percy wasn’t sure if there was some kind of statute against students touching teacher’s dirty undergarments, but if there wasn’t, he felt there should be.

Despite the grossness of the situation, he reminisced back to the detention he’d had with Grover last spring where he took down Ms. Dodds. Having his best friend by his side and the realization that he couldn’t let Grover die was what got them through that predicament in the first place. Now, he was just worried that something terrible had happened to Grover while Percy wasn’t around to help him.

“SCRUB OUT THE STAINS YOU LITTLE TROLLS!” Tantalus howled.

***

For the Americans and Canadians that attended Hogwarts, the school did a traditional Thanksgiving feast. Percy, given his mom was American, appreciated it as well. Their food was just as impressive too, seeming to be made with love. Annabeth spoiled his feelings on that when she revealed they were actually made with the blood and sweat of house elves.

Still, Percy didn’t see anything wrong in celebrating thankfulness. He wrote his mother, trying to maintain like he wasn’t completely shredded that they wouldn’t be spending Christmas together. Then, he snuck some food up to Tyson.

“Hey, man. I tried to bring as much as I could, but one of the ghosts- Clarisse? What the hell are you doing here?” His eyes blew wide as he saw Clarisse standing completely alone in the Room of Requirement.

Her entire face scrunched up like a wrinkled meatball. “I can be where ever I want, Prissy. The question is, who’s Tyson?”

“Uh, Tyson is a dog that I’ve been keeping in the castle.” He quickly blurted.

“A dog.” She deadpanned.

“Yep.”

She turned her head towards the large mattress in the corner of the room as well as some secondhand-large clothes that Percy found with the name “Hagrid” on the inside tag. All he could do was hope she was as perceptive as she was sweet.

Every moment she didn’t answer made him more anxious, but not as much as the thought of Tyson not being in the room and freely roaming around the castle for anyone to see him. It was any moment before a loud alarm blared throughout the castle and it was announced that there was a monster on the loose.

Someone could really hurt Tyson. Tantalus could get ahold of him too.

He was so lost in his panic that he almost didn’t notice Clarisse approaching him so she towered over him. Her stringy hair hung in her face while her pig-snout looking nose wrinkled. She snarled at him. If looks could kill, Clarisse would be a serial killer by now.

“You’re up to something, Prissy. Headmaster Tantalus can see that you’re trouble too. Just because I spared your life last semester- and nobody talks about it- doesn’t mean I’m gonna let you get away with any of your bullshit.”

“Wow, you told me.”

She snatched plate of food from his hand and pushed past him, being sure to slam into his shoulder as she did. The impact caused him to stumble a bit, but the second the door closed, Percy could breathe a little relief.

Then, he remembered Tyson was lost somewhere in the castle. Also, Clarisse stumbled upon the Room of Requirement.

Problems all around.

***

 He couldn’t lead on to anyone why he was in such a panic, so he mostly just jogged around the castle, throwing over his shoulder to onlookers that he was running off his meal. Was he doing so in his Hogwarts uniform? Yes. Tie and all.

It didn’t subside in the slightest until he ran smack into Annabeth. Literally.

“Ow, seriously?” She rubbed her head.

Forgetting why or how he could even bet mad at her, Percy immediately spilled his guts on why he was in such a hurry. He expected her to flip out and start panicking just like he was. He anticipated that she was going to yell at him for being so careless and for dragging her into this in the first place. He thought she’d be scared of having Tyson lingering around the castle, albeit for different reasons.

Instead, she sighed and stood up to help him to his feet too. “Come on, he can’t be far.”

***

As usual, she was right. Tyson was chasing butterflies out on the Quidditch field, despite it being dreary and cold and pitch-black outside. Percy was certain there weren’t even butterflies to chase right now.

“Tyson! Man, why’d you leave?”

“Heard someone coming.” He said, “Got scared.”

“There’s only one exit though.” Annabeth narrowed her eyes. “If you heard Clarisse coming… How’d you get out?”

“I wished it!”

“You… What?” Percy asked.

Tyson shrugged and simply resumed his much-needed exercise and went running about. There was a horrible chill that blew through them, but he didn’t seem to mind. Neither Percy or Annabeth anticipated being outside that evening and were just in their standard uniforms. They didn’t even have robes on.

“Thanks for helping me find him. I know it wasn’t a top ten way to spend your night.” He said to Annabeth, whose eyes were trained on Tyson while he gleefully hopped around the field. The only thing to illuminate the scene was the moon. It danced over all of them, but seemed to radiate off of Annabeth, making her look angelic. Her stormy eyes cast back over to him.

“You were scared. That’s what friends are for.”

“I don’t know what to do anymore, Annabeth.” He admitted. “Clarisse was looking for something. She looked like she was caught off guard by my finding her. Do you think Tantalus suspects that Tyson is here? Or that he’s looking for him.”

“Maybe,” She admitted and looked back to the go-lucky Cyclops, “Percy, why do you think Tantalus took Tyson’s mother and not him?”

“What do you mean?”

She paused again, “A baby Cyclops should be an easier catch, right?”

“But what if he wants one more powerful?”

“I don’t think he got the one that’s more powerful.” She said quietly.

After a good minute of trying to deconstruct that ominous overture, he nudged her with his shoulder. She snapped out of her daze and looked curiously over at him.

“What?”

“Just think, in a week’s time, Hufflepuff will have beaten Ravenclaw on this very field.”

She scoffed, “In your dreams, Seaweed Brain.”

She was right… But at least Hufflepuff had fun?

* * *

 

_~December~_

Percy usually loved the holidays. He loved the merriment and the togetherness as well as the traditions he and his mom always upheld every year. The problem was, they weren’t doing that, because she had dreams and Gabe and he had Hogwarts. Of course, most of his classmates went home for the Christmas holidays, leaving the Hufflepuff dormitory fairly empty.

The only positive was that Annabeth was staying at school too.

“You’re not going home to your dad?” He’d asked.

“Nope.” She used that “don’t question me about it or I’ll sock you in the stomach” voice and he took the hint.

Annabeth seemed positively delighted to have him with her over Christmas. He tried not to pay any mind to the butterflies in his stomach at that, but it was true. She felt bad that his mother wasn’t inviting him back home, but this meant she would be less alone on Christmas this year.

“It’s just as well,” She tried to comfort him over breakfast. “We can do some real investigating.”

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“Well, we’ll have a lot of the school to ourselves, not to mention free time. It’ll be easier to sneak about. Teachers are a lot less strict around here over holiday.”

“That was under Chiron’s rule.”

“Maybe, but everyone else doesn’t have an invisibility baseball cap.”

“The Yankee’s.” Percy sighed, “You truly have no shame.”

That earned him a tater tot thrown at his head.

***

He wasn’t totally wrong about it being more difficult under Tantalus’ reign. If the guy was unpleasant during the regular season, he was even more miserable near Christmas. Percy theorized this had everything to do with being eternally alone.

He’d started all of these ridiculous rules about smiling too much and over-wrapping Christmas presents. There were so many fresh decrees on the wall of rules that they had to start a new one and order more ink.

It didn’t totally dampen the spirit though, as the students that remained still made the best of their situations for the most part. They had the biggest snowball fight in Hogwarts history- completely unmagical, but still one of the most enchanting moments Percy ever experienced. There was something really beautiful about seeing Clarisse La Rue get shoved head first into a snowman.

Truly, a great and pure time for all.

***

They did have more time to visit Tyson in his new location. Now that the Room of Requirement was compromised by Clarisse, they needed a new place to keep him safe. Luckily, Hestia was more than open to keeping Tyson in her little cottage not far from the castle.

“Feel free to visit him whenever you want, kids.” She smiled.

“And you’re sure you don’t mind?” Percy asked.

“Not at all! It’ll be so nice to have some help around the house again.”

“Pretty flowers!” Tyson beamed at a plant he’d just knocked over.

Annabeth sighed, “We should go.”

Percy shrugged at Hestia, who seemed confused by Annabeth’s hesitance as well, but he followed her out the door.

“We’ll stop by tomorrow to see you, pal. We’ll keep you updated on what happens with your mom.”

“Okay…”

Percy walked towards him and reached up to put a hand on his shoulder. It was a bit of a struggle with their vast height differences, but he made it work.

“Hey, we’re going to figure this out. You’re not alone.”

“Promise?”

“I know what it’s like to feel alone and scared. Our best friend is missing too. We’re going to find everybody.”

Tyson finally nodded and Percy went back to leave with Annabeth, who seemed a little startled by the whole scene more than anything else.

“What?” He asked her as they trudged up the snowy scape and back to the castle. Her lips looked bright red in contrast to the blistering white all around them. Her hair was contained under a knit purple cap. Her nose was pink. Still, she refused to make eye contact with him.

“You’re a good guy, Percy.”

***

Percy had nightmares about Grover. A lot.

Sometimes, the two would joke about how they were empathetically linked. Well, neither of them came up with that term. Annabeth did one time the previous year when Percy slipped on a banana peel and Grover said ‘ow’ like he’d been the one to fall. They all had a good laugh about it, but Percy wondered if there was any possible truth to that.

He tossed and turned in his sleep, seeing flashes of Grover in tattered clothes, whimpering and cowering in fear as a large shadow cascaded over him. There was laughing, but it wasn’t the comedic/happy kind. Instead, it was sinister and full-bodied like every exaggerated cartoon villain.

_“PERCY HEEEEEEEEEEELP!” Grover screamed. “THE LAKE!”_

_“I’m coming, Grover!” He heard himself say._

_“You’re too late,” A familiar voice- Luke’s voice- echoed._

_“No! Percy, don’t listen to him.” Grover begged._

_“You’ve failed, Jackson. And you’re going to fail the others too. Nobody stands a chance against Kronos the great. He rises within me and he grows stronger every day.”_

_“You keep your hands off of him, Luke!” Percy yelled._

_“Too late.”_

The dream went dark and Percy shot up in bed. This wasn’t completely unlike the dreams he’d had in the past. However, Luke was never in the equation yet. He’d heard of wizards having premonitions in their dreams, but it was foolish to insist that each dream meant something.

Still, something ached in his brain. Maybe Tantalus wasn’t behind all of this.

***

“The lake.” Annabeth repeated back to him.

“C’mon, no one is going to expect us to sneak out on Christmas Day.” Percy said.

It was Christmas Eve and while he would much rather be nestled in a cocoon of blankets by the fire place in his home, he didn’t have that option. Instead, he’d rather get his other best friend back by the time of the New Year as opposed to having the opportunity to think about where he wasn’t that Christmas.

“Really? Tantalus doesn’t strike me as the pious type to hang in on Christmas.”

“Maybe, but you said it yourself. We’ve got less people to pay attention to us right now. I have a feeling the lake is holding something we don’t know. It’s been appearing in a lot of my dreams.”

“Maybe you just need to pee at night more often.”

“That’s not it.” He scowled. “Grover is always telling me to go to the lake.”

“Not all-”

“-Dreams are real, I know, but this is something, Annabeth. And we’ve been without a lead for a while now. The case is going cold.”

“Easy there, Detective,” She retorted. “The case has not gone cold. The lake is home to a lot of mysterious creatures and is frozen over right now… If we find Grover there…”

Suddenly, Lou Ellen dangled what appeared to be mistletoe above their heads. Everyone in the dining hall (though it wasn’t that many people) oohed to their loudest potential without drawing attention to any professors. Percy was certain he noticed Professor Aphrodite, their Charms professor, eyeing the scene with interest.

“Do you mind?”

“It’s Christmas tradition. Lovebirds kiss under the mistletoe.”

“We aren’t lovebirds.” She snapped.

“Suuuuuuuuuure, right Percy?”

Percy pretty much froze, looking at Annabeth and waiting for her to move. His tongue felt tied and his heart couldn’t stop beating. Part of him wanted her to grab the thing and toss it somewhere Lou Ellen couldn’t find it, but the other part of him would be hurt if she did that.

The stare between Annabeth and Lou Ellen was intense and challenging and everyone watched to see who would win. Percy was sweating buckets.

“You know that’s poison oak, right?” Was all Annabeth said.

Lou Ellen’s eyes went wide and to her hand. Quickly, she tossed the plant away and went running for presumably the restrooms.

Percy hadn’t recovered his ability to speak yet. He had no idea people saw he and Annabeth like that. It infuriated him. Why couldn’t guys and girls just be friends without anyone making it weird? Why couldn’t he just talk about going to the lake to investigate the absence of his friend without someone making it out to be a date? He didn’t love Annabeth’s immediate squashing of being referenced as lovebirds. Sure, they weren’t and wouldn’t be, but she didn’t have to say it like Percy carried the plague.

He was about to try and form a sentence, but Annabeth got to her feet.

“I’ll see you at the lake at sunset.”

***

He scarfed down the Christmas feast like it would be the last meal he’d ever have. There was always a lot of food to go around, but the lack of students made it even more bountiful. He had to admit, he liked seeing the castle fuller though. The students breathed more life into the institution.

Music added ambiance into the background while the ceiling above mirrored a light snowfall on a darkening sky. The candles twinkled in the mood lighting while the large Christmas tree in the front reflected off against each of them. Positively dazzling.

It was almost enough for Percy to lose his breath over and forget about he and Annabeth’s Christmas eve plans.

He decided, though, that Tyson had no business being alone on Christmas too.

***

“I can’t believe you brought him. I thought we were supposed to be stealth.” Annabeth said in reference to Tyson, who was poking the ice-covered lake with sheer curiosity at how it could possibly turn solid.

“No one should be alone on Christmas.”

“I think we need to talk about your mom and Gabe,” Annabeth said plainly.

“W-What?”

“You’ve been gloomy about it all year and you won’t tell her how you feel about it.”

“Like you corner the market on talking things out with family,” He returned.

“I’m not close with my parents!” She said, “But you are and it’s killing you that she’s dating this slug. I think it’s why you’re so determined to reunite Tyson with his mother too.”

“Not because I’m a good guy?”

“It can be for both.” She looked back to the Cyclops, “But I’m not sure how long we’re going to be able to keep him hidden, Percy. Hestia has been a big help, but it’s only a matter of time before Clarisse realizes you aren’t hiding a dog and reports it to Tantalus.”

“I think you’re giving Clarisse a little too much credit.” He muttered, but he knew she was right. Tantalus had been leering over Percy more than usual and Clarisse was definitely seen about Hogwarts holding dog treats. He’d commented that maybe she just liked them, but that earned him being chased all the way to Hufflepuff’s dormitory.

Tyson, for his part, handed Annabeth a bouquet of twigs with withered leaves on the ends as if he were giving her flowers. She hesitantly reached out and accepted the sticks from him. He blushed.

“Uh, thanks.” She said awkwardly. “Which brings us to the lake. Where did Grover seem to be in your dreams?”

“I thought you said dreams aren’t-”

“-I know what I said, Seaweed Brain, but it could be a start.”

“He always looked like he was in this cave and there was this large shadow over him… A monster’s shadow.”

He left out the part about Luke.

She pursed her lips. “I’ve studied the known layout of the lake. There are some sea caves.”

“Good thing we can take a closer look.” He smiled and nodded towards the frozen lake.

“You’re suggesting we simply walk across the lake as if we were taking an evening stroll around the grounds?” She asked, utterly bewildered at his simplicity.

“Do you have any better suggestions?”

“Perhaps, if you give me a moment, I can think of one or two that doesn’t involve either of us becoming popsicles.”

“I like popsicles!” Tyson cheered.

“How do you know we’ll fall through?” Percy challenged.

“Because it’s December and it hasn’t been cold long enough for the ice to thoroughly solidify enough to handle each of our weights.”

“Are you suggesting I trim down?”

She looked to Percy, who was a wiry little thing as was. He wasn’t particularly tall in stature- about an inch shorter than she was- and he was pretty skinny too. His regular clothes tended to hang off of him a bit. She was more athletic looking- taller and already lined with muscle from practicing Quidditch and other sports her entire life.

“I probably weigh more than you.” She concluded.

Percy didn’t know much about girls, but he knew for a fact that this was not a statement he should agree to or deny if he wanted to stay alive. Instead, he tried to think about a solution to their predicament.

“Is there a spell that could help us out?”

She thought about it. “There is a freezing spell I’ve been reading about. We should learn it our third year of charms.”

“Well, go on then. Feel free to share with the class.”

She rolled her eyes, “It can’t freeze the entire lake, but it might add enough to make it a few inches studier. I just wish there was a way we could test it beforehand.”

“Annabeth, you’re the best person I know at charms and spells. This is already foolproof.”

“And yet, you usually still find a way.”

***

Percy let Annabeth practice on a few nearby puddles to give her some relief on the matter. He even walked across them to show her that they did not crack. The ice could actually hold both Percy and Annabeth together, it was so strong.

“See, what did I tell you? Brilliant!”

She still didn’t seem 100% sure about this plan, but smiled smugly at the compliment. It was always easier to goad her into things by stroking her already Quidditch field-sized ego. It wasn’t that hard for Percy, as he was usually impressed by the magical and nonmagical stunts she managed to pull off.

“Tyson, if either of us fall in, get Hestia.” Percy said as they were already a few steps out.

Tyson nodded dutifully.

Annabeth glared at him. “I thought you said it was foolproof!”

“Like _you_ said, I seem to find a way.”

She sighed. Having Tyson be the person to go get help wasn’t ideal, because if Hestia wasn’t around, there wasn’t anyone else he would know to go get. And if he did, they’d all be immediately caught. She would have much preferred to stay on land during this excursion, but the length at which she could cast the spell was limited. She had to be right next to Percy to get the steps right in front of them frozen solid.

Percy tried not to pay attention to the fact that they had to hold hands out of necessity for closeness. He was already nervous enough about the plan. He was also sure not to look back too.

“Do you know where the caves are located?” He asked.

“I would not have let you convince me into this if I didn’t.”

The wind howled all around them and it got increasingly darker the further they moved away from Hogwarts. Tyson was silent behind them, which was a relief. The last thing they needed was more attention being drawn to them. The only thing grounding him was Annabeth’s warm hand in his and the gust of blue that erupted from her wand every 5 seconds.

“Glacius!” She repeated with growing confidence.

He was careful to put his feet exactly where she had pointed her wand, but it was easy to fall into a rhythm too.

“See anything yet?” She asked, “Feel anything?”

“Feel anything?”

“I don’t know, they’re your dreams! And this was your idea.”

After a few more minutes of quiet trekking (outside of the nerve-wracking crackling below them), Percy signaled them both to stop. For a moment, everything remained quiet except for the winds that engulfed them. Both were along the lines of thinking that they were glad neither went alone on this walk.

Annabeth looked at him intently, waiting for a reaction. He crouched down and brushed some light snowfall off of the icy surface.

“There’s no gave for another hundred feet.” She finally said.

It wasn’t a cave that startled him. It was a loud swish beneath the ice. It caused them to move just a fraction. Annabeth felt it when the movement was larger. Something was pounding on the ice below them, trying to break free.

It was difficult not to panic, to say the least, but both children remained positively still. Annabeth squeezed the living daylights out of Percy’s hand- or maybe that was him doing that to her? He couldn’t tell and he didn’t care.

When what appeared to be a tentacle burst through the surface, any calm shredded off of them.

“A squid?” He yelled.

“That’s no squid.” Annabeth’s face was pale.

The tentacle was actually a head that dove forward at them with three rows of teeth the size of surfboards and beady soulless eyes that saw nothing more than two tasty little appetizers. It screeched into the night and just as it seemed impossibly scary, 5 more heads just like the one that glowered at them appeared in geyser like bursts. Shards of ice rained down around them and broke their grounding even more.

Annabeth yanked him by his coat, pulling him into a run across the surface, ignoring all pretenses of being careful. Nothing could be worse than being eaten by that thing. The beast followed, lunging and chomping at every chance it got, causing both half-bloods to leap and dodge a head.

They never let go of their linked hands and thank God, because she was a much more proficient runner on ice than he was. Whenever one of them slipped (usually Percy), the other brought them back to their feet. They could see a Tyson-shaped dot on land, leaping up and down for them to get back.

As if that wasn’t already the goal.

“We’re not going to make it!” She yelled.

Percy realized this too, because worst of all? The ice was cracking right down the center and they were at risk of breaking through with each heavy stride they took coupled with the sea monster that cruised behind them.

“Hold on.” He thought quickly and believe it or not, he tried to reflect back on something Luke had taught him the previous year. He’d avoided using such overpowered spells since then, but now seemed as good a time as any.

He turned around, stopping in his tracks to face the humongous beast, which by its massiveness alone, he could tell this was the monster that hovered over Grover in his dreams. He couldn’t think of that now. Instead, he closed his eyes and whipped Riptide out.

“Percy, what are you…” Annabeth trailed off just as her friend triumphantly pointed his wand with upmost confidence at their attacker.

“Fiendfyre!” He yelled and after a millisecond of confusion, wild bursts of fire left his wand and created a deadly wall of flames in front of him, instantly melting all ice, but also consuming the beast until it was flailing all about.

After fighting with the cantankerous flames for a bit too long, resulting in it being sufficiently scorched, it disappeared with a hefty splash beneath the surface, a bed of fire still remaining untampered on the water’s surface.

Annabeth didn’t have much time to comment on that, because the heat from Percy’s spell actually melted their own ice block that they were standing on. Quickly, he grabbed her from around the waist as they flung through the ice together, entering a world of cold that so painfully contrasted the heat they’d just experienced.

She cursed and she kicked despite the pins and needles that immediately and sharply struck her. She was pissed that this of all ways was how they were going to die. Even though they were underwater, Percy could understand a fair amount of slurs directed at him. Before a moment too long passed and they were frozen to death, a bubble formed around them and they could breathe. Even more importantly, it was warmer.

They shivered as they huddled together. Annabeth was still very unpleased at the turn of events, but body warmth was key in fighting off hypothermia.

“How…” She breathed. “How did you…”

“Luke taught me the fire trick.” He shrugged. “Part of his revolution plans or something like that. I figured fire melts ice so…”

“So you meant to toss us into frigid waters. Tyson is probably freaking out above us!” She argued.

“At least we’re alive. Are you not going to comment on the cool bubble trick?”

“Ebublio, right? The jinx?”

“I was trying to figure out a way to get back at Clarisse for dunking so many people’s heads in toilet. I’ve had a lot of practice.”

She laughed, “I’m glad it works.”

They looked all around them at the murky water. Life still seemed to go on despite being glacier water in the winter. Mermaids swam in the distance and in the faint glow of moonlight and remaining firelight, Percy could see the caves Annabeth was talking about.

“So, what was that thing?”

“Scylla.” Annabeth groaned and her wet forehead smacked against his chest lightly. “I read stories about her, but I never thought she was real. I guess considering everything we experience on a daily basis, that was pretty stupid, right?”

“I don’t think you could ever be stupid,” He said. “How do you think we can get in that cave?”

She thought about that. “You know what your fatal flaw is?”

“Wow, okay-”

“-Relax,” She laughed softly, her voice warm enough to stop his persistent shivering. “Your fatal flaw is loyalty. You would give anything to save or help a friend.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“I mean, if the fate of the world rested on that, it could be. Here we are, aimlessly floating in a prank bubble you’ve been practicing for Clarisse, after just being attacked by a six-headed sea monster, and the only thing you can think about is pushing through and going to get Grover- logic be damned.”

Percy didn’t take it as an insult, because that was exactly how he felt. It wasn’t the _only_ thing he was thinking about, given he was currently completely entwined with his other best friend- his much prettier friend, but he did want to help Grover above all else.

“What’s yours?”

“Oh, hubris. No doubt about that.” She answered honestly.

“Isn’t that a dip?”

“That’s hummus.” She rolled her eyes, “Hubris is being very prideful. Too prideful. Take this mission for example. I was coaxed into it because you told me I was good at charms and spells. My pride defies logic the way your loyalty does.”

“Interesting. So we’re both screwed, is what you’re saying.”

“If Tyson doesn’t get us out of here and we inevitably freeze to death? Yeah.”

“Well, Merry Christmas to you too, Annabeth.”

“Merry Christmas, Percy.” She hugged him tighter to ward off the cold.

Of course, Tyson had gotten Hestia as ordered and she got the headmaster as well as Madame Pomfrey. The two were promptly fished out and sent to the medical ward to be warmed up.

 

* * *

 

_~January~_

The entire month of January was basically characterized by detention. Tantalus determined that Percy and Annabeth were bad influences on each other, no matter how much they begged to differ. Percy actually got an extension on their detention due to telling Tantalus to “go chase a donut”.

“Sorry,” He murmured to Annabeth as they washed dishes by hand. It was the only time they’d gotten to see each other the whole month. Tantalus didn’t like either of them, but he especially hated Percy for his smartass comments, so Percy had the luxury of continuing Tantalus’ laundry while Annabeth mostly cleaned his living quarters. Today, they were doing dishes while he was having private conferences.

“It’s fine. He kind of deserved it. There’s no way we should be allowed to miss class to do detention. That’s purposefully setting us back. Besides, you warded off that monster. That should have at least counted for something.”

“Professor Blofis did give me ten points towards Hufflepuff for that.”

“Great, that’s worth all of this.” She said dryly.

“I don’t get why nobody seems to care that Grover or anyone else is missing.”

“Because they’re scared. Rumors that Tantalus is turning kids into trees after their conferences is at an all time high.”

“I wonder why we haven’t gotten conferences.” He mused.

“My mom may not write me every week, but she’d cause all hell if something happened to me. She’s the Ministry’s top Auror, after all.”

“And me? I’m nobody.”

“I wouldn’t say that, but you’ve driven quite a reputation for yourself at this school. People would notice if the slayer of Minotaur, furies, and Scylla had gone missing.”

“We’re not even sure Scylla is dead.”

“Dead enough, anyway.” She said. “You didn’t see those burns. I don’t think it can’t see anymore.”

“It’s guarding that cave down there, Annabeth. It has to be. That’s where Grover is being kept.”

“I wonder why Tantalus didn’t just turn him into a tree.”

“Maybe…” He started, but the mentions of Luke almost died in his mouth. “Maybe he wasn’t the only who took him.”

“You think it’s…” She knew what he was getting at anyway, no matter how interested in a mug he was trying to appear.

“We need to test all theories, right?” He hurried. “And we know _he_ isn’t above this. He tried to kill me last spring.”

Annabeth straightened. “I’ve been dreaming about him.”

Percy buried that gross feeling in his stomach again enough to think about the meaning behind this. “Dreaming… how?”

“Sometimes it’s the normal stuff. We’re normal people in a normal place… Friends or you know… I don’t know. My mom is there too in those dreams and so is Thalia. Everyone is just happier.”

 _And me?_ Percy wanted to ask, but he didn’t. He just let her continue.

“Most of them are darker though.” She said, “He’s being lured by someone or something.”

“Kronos?”

“Probably. Chiron mentioned last year that he couldn’t get into the castle, but he didn’t say anything about the lake.”

“So, we need to figure out how to get to that cave.”

 

* * *

 

_~February~_

February brought the end of their extensive and laborious detentions and the talk about how Percy was the next monster slayer died down a little bit. He still earned hi-fives in the corridors every now and then, but nothing too ridiculous like when it first happened, and his lips were blue for a week from the cold.

His being banned from all fun activities except for chores made his studying time increase, believe it or not. He received the best marks he’d ever gotten after that month of hard work. He hated every second of it and denounced its worth to Annabeth when she bragged about how all he needed to do was apply himself.

“At what cost?” He retorted. He didn’t want to be the loser that studied all of the time in his magical school.

February, once again, brought Valentine’s Day to everyone at school. Everyone was talking about pairing off and who was going to go to the Valentine’s Day dance with whom. It was funny, because the dance was a new tradition, so everyone treated it like it was of the upmost importance that they find a suitable date.

“Second-years are going with friends.” Will Solace told Percy as they walked by a couple of fourth years making out after being asked. “That is such a relief.”

“Why?”

“Because I’d rather put off the whole coming out thing for another year or so.”

“Oh…” Percy slowed, realizing what Will was saying. “That’s cool.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

He smiled at his friend’s confidence. “Yeah, man. You do you.”

***

Silena Beauregard and a few other fourth years were determined to try and demonstrate their new beauty techniques on the underclassmen. They’d been taught plenty of new charms and beauty spells by Professor Aphrodite that were designed to make each girl resemble supermodels.

Annabeth avoided them at all costs, preferring to stick her nose in a book about lake caves and sea monsters than to subject herself to that “utter humiliation” as she put it.

They did make girls look really good. A few of the catty girls, like Drew Tanaka and her friends, purposely made them look bad. For instance, they engorged a Hufflepuff named Juniper’s teeth so she couldn’t close her mouth. The girls weren’t even given detention since Drew was one of Tantalus’ appointed monitors. She merely looked the other way like the embodiment of hypocrisy would.

Percy’s eyes fell to a few of the girls that emerged from Silena’s “salon” as she liked to call it. They looked freshly primped and smooth. Each smelled like fresh vanilla and had skin that looked softer than silk. Their eyes were highlighted and cheekbones were emphasized. Everyone looked beautiful.

Percy couldn’t help but take part in a little of the drooling the other boys did. Annabeth smacked a hand down on the table. He snapped back to focus on her. She looked rather pissed.

“Seriously? You too? I don’t know why anyone would want to subject themselves to that. You have to sit still for hours for one thing, which sucks. And you come out not even looking like yourself. We’re 12 for God’s sake…”

She went on like that for a while and Percy did his best to pay attention. Honestly. The air just smelled really sweet from another wave of freshly manicured girls drifting by.

Will Solace sighed, “Tell me about it. These guys are too easy.”

She nodded in agreement.

***

Silena Beauregard was actually pretty pissed at Drew’s taking over her gig and poisoning it and making girls look terrible. Percy wasn’t sure why she decided to come to him of all people. It wasn’t like he was lining up to have his makeup done. However, he did suspect that she knew how fed up he was with Tantalus and his reign over the school. The guy had just passed a rule where students weren’t allowed to be out past 6:30 pm on school nights. This was rather hard since dinner ended at 6:30 pm. Most kids had detention by now.

“He’s such a miserable man,” She said. “We have to get him off our backs.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking…” And she seemed a little embarrassed for a moment, which was ridiculous since girls like Silena Beauregard had no reason to ever be embarrassed. They were too pretty and popular. She was down to earth though and Percy quite liked her… Not like that, of course. He was good friends with Charles Beckendorf and it was clear that he had a thing for her.

Besides, Silena was so out of his league, it would be like they were playing different sports. She was professional football while he was pickup whiffle ball a few blocks down from the stadium.

“I was thinking we make him fall in love.”

“Who would be rotten enough to fall in love with him?” Percy asked.

“We should _Pretty Woman_ him!” She exclaimed, growing excited by the idea.

“Uh, I don’t think he’d make a very pretty girl either, Silena.”

“No, silly. In the movie _Pretty Woman_ , a low-grade hooker is transformed into a classy bombshell socialite. All we have to do is clean Tantalus up and maybe give him a different wardrobe.”

“And smell.”

“Leave it to me. We just need to figure out who would be a good match.”

“What about the caretaker? Arachne? She is the only person in this place that doesn’t mind him. She actually enforces his rules.”

“Ah! It’s perfect! She’s a fixer upper too though, isn’t she?”

Percy winced, thinking of the gangly, pale, and stringy teacher with teeth that resembled fangs. She more than freaked him out many a times when he turned a sharp corner and came face to face with her.

“Yeah, a little bit.”

***

“Peter Johansson, you were doing so well last month. What the hell happened?” Mr. D asked as Percy sat down across from him.

“I wasn’t allowed to do anything but homework and chores for a month.”

“Maybe that’s the curriculum that works for you.” Mr. D pursed his lips.

“Did I not do well on the last test?”

“Well, I certainly don’t like you enough to meet with you casually.”

“Does that mean you like me at all?”

He glared at him. “No. Shape up.”

“Mr. D, is there a thing called a love potion? Like a real one?”

Mr. D narrowed his eyes. “I doubt even that could work for you, Peter. You’re much too stumpy and your hair looks like a black sheep dog’s.”

“Not for me!” Percy said, “But I was just asking.”

“Since when do you have any interest in potions?”

“Since you just told me to shape up?”

He paused, “Fine, but this is some advanced level stuff here, Pierre. I’d be worried about your using it on yourself, but it’s obvious you haven’t hit puberty yet.  It’s called ‘Amortentia’ and it does cause the taker to feel intense and increasing infatuation for the designed person. It’s a wonder that it isn’t banned by the ministry, honestly, but it is banned here at Hogwarts. That’s not to say many don’t try to make them around this time of year.”

“Interesting. What’s in it?”

“I’m not that foolish, Perry Johnston.”

***

He scheduled a study session with Annabeth that night. If he wanted to find Grover and figure out what was going on at this damn school, he couldn’t get himself kicked out. That wouldn’t do anyone any good. It wasn’t like his mom wanted him. She was busy jet-setting off around the world with her ugly boyfriend on her book deal.

He was also pretty excited to reveal his and Silena’s plan to Annabeth.

She was late, which was unlike her, but then when she came in, his tongue rolled out of his head. She looked completely different. Her hair was freshly washed and blow-dried, pulled back into braids that frame her face. The rest of her hair is long and behind her in the natural princess curls that seemed extra golden and shiny. She’s wearing makeup, which Percy never thought he’d catch Annabeth dead in. Her gray eyes practically glow even more than usual as a result of the carefully applied mascara and liquid eyeliner that’s done in little swoops on the end. There’s eye shadow there too, though Percy can’t exactly pinpoint the color, just that it makes her look older and her eyes look even brighter. Her cheeks are covered in a light dusting of blush that makes her cheekbones look higher and her face seem warmer. There’s lip gloss on her mouth and it takes everything in him not to focus on that.

Percy wished he had any other excuse to be so dumbstruck, but he just stares at her in awe like everyone else does. He had to say, though, it just didn’t look like her at the same time. She looked good, great, gorgeous, whatever, but it wasn’t Annabeth.

“Hey.” She said casually.

“H-Hi? Um, I thought you thought Silena’s makeup thing was dumb.”

Her face flushed, “They cornered me this morning.”

“Right.”

“You’ve got something to say to me?” She frowned challengingly.

“Nope, well, yeah, but not about…” He gestured to her appearance. “Er… Silena and I were thinking of setting Tantalus and Arachne up to get him off our backs.”

“You and Silena?” She thought about this, “Why would she ever come to you about setting anyone up as a couple?”

“Okay, ow? Maybe it’s my charm?”

“Nah.”

“Or my wit?”

“Nope.”

“My boyish good looks?”

She just laughed. She looked more like herself when she laughed, because she didn’t give a care in the world when she did.

“Fine! I was thinking we’d just do a love potion or something.”

She pursed her lips. “Did you try and talk to Mr. D?”

“Yes, and he told me about a love potion called ‘Amortentia’, but since I’m not really his favorite student right now, he won’t tell me the ingredients.”

“It’s also some high-powered stuff. People don’t learn about it until sixth year.”

“You’ve heard of it?”

“My mother has talked about it before. It’s not illegal, per say, until it’s used to get someone to do sexual stuff or money laundering or whatever. I guess in the purest sense it’s considered okay, but anything that involves consent or money is when stuff gets sticky.”

“Do you know how to make it?”

“I can actually do you one better.” She said. “I’m supposed to visit my mom at the Ministry this weekend. I’ll see if I can snatch a small dose.”

“What? That’s great!”

“Yeah,” She smiled. “It’s bring your daughter to work day and even though I’ve been campaigning to go for years, she’s finally taking me in.”

“I’m really happy for you.” He said earnestly. “But do yourself a favor so she doesn’t kill you and wash off the makeup.”

She laughed, “You’re telling me. My mom would be all ‘who are you trying to impress?’ or ‘intelligent girls don’t need to look like whores to get what they want’ or something endearing like that.”

“I don’t think you look like a… Well, I think you look nice and all but…” He felt himself stumbling.

She cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah, you’ve got some drool on your chin.”

He hastily wiped his mouth. “That’s… I just woke up from a nap.”

“Definitely plausible.” She nodded, “But I doubt that.”

“You don’t need it though.” He finally said what he’d wanted and she smiled.

“I know.”

***

Annabeth didn’t disappoint that weekend and came back to Hogwarts (back to her normal self) with a small little pink vile.

“You’re not going to get in trouble for this, right?” He asked.

“Thanks for asking that after I already took it.” She smirked. “And doubtfully. My mother barely noticed I was there. I didn’t take an entire container either. I just grabbed a little of it.”

“Great! Not that your mom didn’t notice you…”

“No, it was great. We are on a mission here.” She said, “Give half to Arachne and half to Tantalus.”

***

The love potion worked and Arachne was clearly very interested in the still homely (despite Silena’s best efforts) Tantalus, but the tricky part was getting the other half to him. The guy never ate or drank from an open container. With the minimal resources they had, they only had really one shot.

“You’d think the guy would just go for it with her anyway.” Silena muttered. “No one else is going to like him with that gray mullet.”

“I think we’re going to need to get detention again.” Percy said. “This way we can get access to his office and slip it in there.”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Annabeth said. “One more detention for us and we could be expelled! Shall I say, one more detention for you could result in expulsion. That’s not worth getting Tantalus a girlfriend.”

“I haven’t gotten detention yet.” Silena said. “I could take the fall.”

“Isn’t your mom a professor here though?” Percy asked.

“Yeah, and she would totally support this endeavor. Anything in the name of love. Remember that, you two.”

“Uh, okay?” Annabeth said and continued eating her French toast.

So, Silena as gracefully as one could, rose to her feet in the Great Hall and marched right over to where Professor Hades, the defense against the dark arts professor, ate his bowl of oatmeal, and picked it up to dump on Tantalus’ head.

Clarisse stood on her bench and whooped at that as well as other students too. Percy and Annabeth looked in shock before breaking out into laughter as the oatmeal drifted down Tantalus’ face. Arachne immediately rushed over and began trying to wipe it off of him. It practically evaporated off by the heat that rose off of him.

Hades didn’t even seem that mad at losing his oatmeal. The next day at detention, Silena made her move.

Love was in the air.

 

* * *

 

_~March~_

Life was easier at Hogwarts with an utterly distracted headmaster. Less detentions were doled out, no one else was rumored to be foliage anymore (somewhat to Professor Demeter’s dismay), and the hall monitors didn’t have nearly as much power as they did before. Silena Beauregard was the hero of the school now, which Percy was more than fine taking a break from.

All that mattered to him was that Tyson became infinitely easier to hide when no one was on the lookout. Everyone else was much more pleased with the fact that they could resume their lives. Tantalus and Arachne were always in his office doing God knows what (none of the professors said anything either, because everyone was too afraid to walk in on that), though Mr. D was very suspicious of Percy since he’d just talked to him about a love potion.

“I wouldn’t even begin to know how to make one,” Percy justified one day.

“No, you’re right. You’re much too dumb for that. And Annabelle wouldn’t have the resources to even get the supplies… I’m keeping an eye on you two though.”

The best cover in the world was the fact that Percy was barely passing his class and that Annabeth was isolated at Hogwarts.

Tyson was getting a little spring fever from being inside all of the time, but Hestia had him doing various tasks around the lawn where no one could see him. He even made a friend in a sprite named Ella.

“She’s chill like him.” Hestia smiled. “They make a cute pair, don’t they?”

“Yeah, they kind of do.” Annabeth admitted.

Annabeth had warmed up to Tyson over the past couple of months. It helped how often he told her how pretty she was and was amazed at how smart she was. It was only a matter of time before she was worn down to seeing that the Cyclops was just a big innocent sweetheart that wanted to figure out his place in the world.

They were walking near the Whomping Willow, which Annabeth liked to stop at every so often. There were a few newer trees nearby that joined Thalia’s tree. However, it was clear that her gigantic tree was wilting and becoming worse for wear over time.

“After we save Grover and figure out what Tantalus and possibly Luke are up to, we’ve got to save her too.”

“Okay.” Was all he said.

***

Their answers came sooner rather than later. A crash came in the middle of the night and when everyone and their brothers went to go investigate it, they saw a giant-shaped hole in the wall where the Chamber of Secret was known to be. Down inside, pure darkness.

Clatters and clangs from all throughout the castle came as the intruder burst through corridors and destroyed infrastructure. A Cyclops was released in Hogwarts and it was pissed.

“That’s your mother, Tyson! You’ve got to calm her down!” Percy explained after he and Annabeth had snuck down the Hestia’s cabin to avoid the hysteria of other students. There were already injuries and Madame Pomfrey’s wing was full of students that had been bitten or stomped in the scuffle.

“Eat someone?” He asked thoughtfully.

“No, not yet.” Annabeth said. “But it’d be great if you could do something _before_ that happens.”

“Mom was trapped. Mom wants bad guy.”

“I think Tantalus has been kidnapping creatures all year.” Annabeth said. “Scylla doesn’t naturally exist in these waters. They’re much too cold and uh, not Greek. I think that was a trap.”

“So, you don’t think Grover’s in the lake.”

“No.” She said. “But someone wanted us to go there.”

“Instead of the Chamber of Secrets.”

“Until now.”

“Field trip?” Tyson asked.

“Field trip.” Percy confirmed.

***

Everyone was either ordered to evacuate or hide and Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson did neither. They were about to approach the Chamber of Secrets, where the hole that was the size of a house was, when they were stopped by the clearing of a throat.

They turned on their heels to notice Tantalus with arms crossed and narrowed eyes.

“And just where do you think you are going?”

His eyes darkened when he noticed Tyson. Tyson, didn’t really react.

“Isn’t this the guy who took your mom?” Percy asked.

“No.” He said confused. “Not the guy.”

“She was not who I was after though. Percy, I see you’ve met your kin.” Tantalus grinned.

He looked a lot uglier that way.

Percy didn’t comprehend what he was saying. “What?”

Slowly, everything about Tantalus began to change before long. His skin evened out from wrinkly to smooth but scarred. His eyes went from dark to light. His gray mullet shrunk back into his head and became a blond crew cut instead.

Tantalus was Luke Castellan.

“Surprise, surprise.” Luke grinned and waved the little flash he’d been carrying around all year.

“Polyjuice potion.” Annabeth said, frozen from shock.

“Very good, Annabeth. You always were the smart one. Not smart enough, of course, since I’ve got a few years on you. You were never able to see the evil that’s been brewing here at school. You wanted to believe that your mom and my dad were good and were protecting wizards and our bloodlines. You’re just a dirty half-blood, but you had promise.”

She gritted her teeth. “This isn’t you, Luke.”

“But it is. I know it’s not the ‘me’ you’ve been seeing in your dreams of course. I’ve seen to that. Makes it harder to see what’s been in front of you all along. That was clever what you guys did with the love potion though. It had me for a little while. It wasn’t until I was doing the horizontal tango with that putrid woman did I realize I was under some kind of fog. It put me back a few steps too.”

“Where’s Grover?” Percy asked.

Luke raised his eyebrows. “Are you kidding? That’s all you care about? Between the people turning into trees, the sea monster that almost killed you- good job at remembering my training by the way, and the fact that I reopened the Chamber of Secrets again… You care about some cripple more?”

Loyalty was his greatest flaw.

“He’s my best friend and if you’ve put a single finger on him…”

“Honestly, I only took the kid, because he spotted me. I also thought it might be kind of fun. I was going to turn him into a tree like the others, but I didn’t think Thalia deserved such shitty company He was a meaningless little thrill for me to take.” Luke laughed, “I forgot all about him until now. He’s been keeping Tyson’s mother happy. They’re married now.”

“… What?”

“I don’t know, it’s weird.” He waved a hand. “If purity can marry putrid muggles, why not though, right?”

“You’re going to pay.” Percy shouted.

“Oh, am I?” He laughed, “I taught you everything you know, man.”

“Why did you even do any of this? What was the point?”

“Opening the Chamber of Secrets and letting Kronos fully rise, of course. Bits of his soul remain down there. Thanks for destroying that stupid sea monster, by the way. That was really getting in my way of getting this.”

He held up what looked like a golden fleece.

“It makes the wearer all the more powerful. Once I put this on in the center of the Chamber of Secrets, Kronos will rise from the ashes that reside, waiting to be awakened. More importantly, the prophecy says I need the son of Poseidon.”

“Well,” Percy pulled out Riptide. “I’m not helping you.”

Luke laughed. “Weren’t you listening? I don’t need you. I can have him.”

He pointed his wand at a very frightened Tyson.

“What?” Percy’s jaw dropped. “You mean… Poseidon… He… Wait…”

“How does that even work?” Annabeth wrinkled her nose.

“It’s not pretty.” Luke smirked, “Regardless, not only is your blood tainted with muggle bullshit, but it’s also got beast in it.”

“That’s not how genetics work.”

He glared at Annabeth while Percy just looked like he might pass out. “Tyson’s my brother?’

“Yes, now can we get on with this? Prophecy says I need the blood of the most notorious muggle killer aside from Kronos. That’s your old man, Percy. Congrats.”

There was a contentious battle for a while there. Each party shot their fair share of disarming spells. Luke was firing unforgivable curses like it didn’t matter and honestly, no one from the ministry was rolling up trying to stop him, so why not?

Tyson mostly hid out of the way, terrified and intrigued by the clashing of the colorful beams of light. Percy and Luke were at a stalemate before Annabeth’s own spell crashed some hanging concrete down to distract him.

Then, it was a three-way burst of light. Blue, green, and red.

The room grew feverishly hot and Percy felt sweat pouring down him. When he glanced over at Annabeth, it was difficult not to be blinded by light. She looked worn too. The two of them were just barely warding Luke off. They needed help.

Help came in the form of the loose Cyclops that returned back to Luke, unhappy to be captured in the first place.

She slammed a fist down, causing all of them to fall to their behinds and take pause in the rumble.

“Mommy!” Tyson cheered.

Tyson’s mother was not eager to see her son though. She was obviously under some sort of curse.

“I think she’s cursed, Tyson.” Annabeth yelled.

“Mommy?” Tyson looked confused.

“DIE!” The Cyclops picked Luke up and hurled him at the wall. It went on like that for a bit before Luke managed to knock the large Cyclops out by striking her in the eye with his wand.

Percy helped Annabeth to her feet after getting up. “But wait, there’s just one thing I don’t get. If Tyson is my dad’s kid too, then that makes him half-wizard, right?”

Annabeth opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, Tyson sneezed and a blast of lighting surged Luke backwards against the wall, unconscious.

“Uh, yeah. I think he’s a wizard.”

“Come on, I bet Grover is down here.” Percy said, “If Luke’s been trying to get all of his ashes together, I bet he’s keeping his prisoners here too.”

Annabeth stooped down and grabbed the fleece from the floor.

“First, we should make sure he can’t get up.” Annabeth said, “ _Immobulus.”_

Then, she made a call.

***

Down below, there were many bones of a monster that Percy heard rumors about. Evidently, it had the ability to kill people just by looking in its eyes. He’d had his fill of big monsters for the year. They walked for a while, taking note about how damp and musky it smelled. There was also this faint sense of blood in the air.

Sure enough, in the center of the hall was a pile of ash.

“This was apparently where Zeus took Kronos to smite him all those years ago. They thought it was poetic given all the evil that was risen and stopped here.”

“I think they need a new hangout place.” Percy said.

“PERCY!” A familiar voice echoed through the chamber.

“GROVER?” Percy called back.

“OVER HERE! HELP! TANTALUS ISN’T GONNA MAKE IT!”

Percy and Annabeth went racing over to the cages off to the back corner. Of course, the real Tantalus had been kidnapped and Luke happily replaced him for the term. Percy wondered if he’d spent so much time hating a guy that wasn’t worthy of that hatred all year long.

“Yeah, get over here you half-witted punks.” A gruff voice shouted.

Or maybe not.

Still, he couldn’t help but surge forward with happiness at the sight of Grover. He looked alive and mostly well except for the fact that he was wearing a wedding dress and a big googly eye on his forehead.

“Cyclops!” Tyson exclaimed.

Grover hastily took it off and Tyson said, equally as excited, “Person!”

“G-Man!” Percy quickly unlocked the door of the cage and enveloped his best friend in a tight bear hug.

“It’s been a weird year, man.” Grover’s voice cracked. “I do not want to go into the details, but I had my first girlfriend this year. One where I was also supposed to be a girl.”

“Progressive.” Annabeth commented before joining in on the hug to make it a group one.

“I missed you guys so much.” He said. “Tantalus hates the reeds.”

“You’ve been down here this entire time?”

“Unless Luke made me go about the castle looking for stuff. I was the one who had to swim for the golden fleece after you beat Scylla.”

“How’d you swim?” Percy asked.

“It took a while.” He breathed. “I’m so happy to see you guys.”

“It wasn’t the same without you, Grover. I’ve had to spend all of my time with him.”

He laughed at Percy’s offended face. “You could do worse, you know. I make great company.”

She shrugged.

“Nothing’s changed it looks like.” Grover laughed.

“Uh, hello? I’m dying here!” Tantalus crowed.

The three (plus Tyson) all directed their attention to who was supposed to be there headmaster this year. He had a basilisk tooth sticking out of his arm.

“Those are poisonous.” Annabeth bent down and then looked at the fleece in her hands. “However…”

She placed it over his dirty arm and sure enough, it was good as new when she lifted the cloth off.

“Cool.” Grover exclaimed. “Do you think it’ll give me something outside of a wedding dress to wear?”

“It’s not a miracle-worker.” Percy quipped.

“Yes it is!”

“Not like that though. It’s not perfect.” Annabeth grinned.

“Pretty dress.” Tyson beamed.

“Uh, who’s this and why does he look like my wife?”

“This is Tyson he’s my…” Percy trailed off. “He’s my friend.”

“AND BROTHER!” The Cyclops cheered.

“Brother?” Grover mouthed and Percy and Annabeth both shrugged sheepishly.

Percy cleared his throat, “I think we outta blow those ashes into the wind so no one can get their hands on them.”

“Where is Luke?” Grover asked.

“Frozen still upstairs and waiting for the Dementors to grab him for a nice stay in Azkaban.”

“Brilliant.”

As they approached the alter that held Kronos’ ashes, Percy stumbled over one of the stones and came crashing down.

“Smooth.” Annabeth said while Grover snickered.

“Brother went boom!” Tyson clapped.

Percy, who was still trying to grasp the concept of Tyson even being his brother, stood up. His nose was bleeding a little bit, but there didn’t seem to be any damage. Just as he thought he was in the clear, a single drop of blood splashed onto the pile of ashes.

“Oh, crap.” Grover said. “That’s not good.”

“What?”

“Your dad’s blood.” Annabeth said.

They all stood there waiting for something to happen, but nothing did.

“Can we get out of here? I haven’t showered in years.” Tantalus said.

“We’ve been down here for 6 months.”

“Yeah, I know.”

***

They swept Kronos’ ashes aside and left the Chambers, happy to see that the proper authorities were already taking Luke away in cuffs.

“I’ll get you mudbloods.” He spat at them. “Kronos will rise!”

“Yeah, sure.” Annabeth’s mom of all people, said as they sent him away. Before she followed, she winked at her daughter in approval.

“I’ll see you this summer, Annabeth.”

“You… Will?”

“Yes.”

And like that, the most powerful Auror was gone into the night.

 

* * *

 

_~April~_

Tantalus (the real one) made the smart decision to opt out of being the headmaster at Hogwarts school for witchcraft and wizardry. It appeared he didn’t even like kids and was just “in it for the money”. So, at the unanimous vote of both staff and the students, Chiron was welcomed back to open arms.

“Where did they keep you?” Percy asked.

“Azkaban.” He said grimly. “And I never want to return.”

“Did they clear you for being the reason Luke is back?” Annabeth asked.

“Since Luke conspired on his own accord this year… Yes. Luckily, he shall be taking my place in Azkaban for a while.”

“Don’t you mean forever?” Grover stammered. “I got to know the guy a little too well this year and it has not been pleasant, okay? Can you say Daddy issues?”

They all laughed.

Chiron straightened and looked out his window. “There is a prophecy. It says that Kronos will rise again one day and could possibly destroy the entire wizarding world. A hero will also rise too, though, and will be given the chance to defeat him.”

“Who’s the hero?” Percy laughed. “I’d feel sorry for that guy.”

The older man stroked his beard. “Um, yes, I suppose you would. The thing is, Percy, you are a candidate.”

Percy’s eyes almost shot out of his head. “Excuse me?”

“Well, the prophecy mentions a half-blood, which you are, will reach age 16 and be presented with a choice to save or destroy Hogwarts. The rub is that it must be one of the three highest families in the wizarding world.”

Annabeth went still. “Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus are the three descendants.”

“And Zeus had a child… who is no more.”

“And Hades hasn’t had any kids.” Grover said.

“Which leaves Poseidon, who has two apparently.” Chiron smiled warmly at Tyson.

Percy looked back to Tyson. “No! No, it won’t be him.”

“Percy…” Annabeth started.

“I won’t let it.” He said sternly. “I’ll claim the prophecy, I guess.”

“You might grow to regret that, child.” Chiron said.

“Maybe I will, but Tyson doesn’t belong in any of this mess.”

“It could apply to anyone else. It could apply to your children or grandchildren or great grand-”

“-Yeah, I get it.” He sighed. “Point is, my bloodline is basically cursed until the others pop out kids.”

“They were not supposed to have children until the prophecy was fulfilled, but here we are. It’s quite possible that you being alive sort of… kickstarted the prophecy.”

“Way to go, dad.” Percy muttered.

***

Spring entered in a bit earlier than usual, thankfully, and everyone’s friends began to return to sanity. Grover was given the option of either repeating his second year or taking summer classes. He chose the ladder since he wanted to remain in the same year as Percy and Annabeth.

They helped him study basically all of the time to try and catch him up. Well, Annabeth did. Percy was about as useful as eating soup with a fork when it came to paying attention. Still, their group felt complete again.

The hall monitors group was disbanded and everyone was pretty much given a clean slate from all of the detentions they underwent that year. Even Percy and Annabeth’s quest against Scylla was forgotten even if it helped Luke in the endgame. It turned out, Scylla was one of the failsafe’s Chiron had put in place to protect Luke from getting ahold of Kronos again.

Tyson didn’t need to be hidden anymore with Hestia, although he did visit Ella whenever he wanted. His mother was still being treated for her cursed brain and was now blind from the shot Luke took at her eye. She would go into an endangered creatures facility, which was promised to be more than willing to work with Tyson in letting him visit his mom as soon as she was well. Tyson was actually going to be allowed to attend Hogwarts the next year and couldn’t get enough of calling Percy his brother.

Percy was still adjusting.

The only person sad to see Tantalus go was Arachne, who up and quit when she heard the news and decided to stalk him cross country until he fell in love with her. Since it was the wrong Tantalus, this would be difficult. Love potions really did grow more intense over time. The students were okay to be ridden with her too.

No one could seem to figure out what to do with Thalia’s tree, which was still in critical condition. Somebody decided to rest the golden fleece on the willow tree with little to no hope that it would work.

 

* * *

 

_~May~_

Even though Hufflepuff was counted out for the Quidditch Cup this year, Percy was still excited to see the last match of the year play out between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Despite the rivalry (which was much more civilized than the bloodthirsty Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry), Percy and Grover donned blue in support for their friend. It was easy for Percy, because he quite liked blue.

 _“Alrighty, folks.”_ Lou Ellen said over the loudspeakers _. “It’s that time of the year again… The last game of Quidditch.”_

The entire crowd made a roaring sound of unanimous disapproval.

_“I know, I know. Nobody ever wants Quidditch to end. What a season it has been though! We laughed, we cried… Especially Clarisse La Rue, am I right?”_

“I’m gonna kick your arse, you little punk!” Clarisse, despite being a mere dot in the crowd of excited people, could be heard over all the rest.”

“20 points from Slytherin, Ms. La Rue.” Chiron said, and Percy couldn’t help but grin. Things were really back to where they should be.

_“I’m pretty sure Hufflepuff won their first match in a thousand years so that’s saying something.”_

The Hufflepuffs, always fine with taking a joke at their own expense, all laughed and hi-fived each other in their section. Most were dressed in different arrangements of either red or blue, but all were happy to see that their team made it out better this year. Percy felt it in his bones that next year was their year.

_“But onto the real potential champions! Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. Both of these teams went undefeated this year, boys and girls. At this point, it’s basically anyone’s game. As a Slytherin, it’s hard for me to say, but I have my money on Gryffindor. Sure, Ravenclaw has some fresh new talent in Annabeth Chase and Malcolm Pace, but I still don’t think that’s enough to beat the upperclassmen strength of Gryffindor.”_

The Ravenclaw section booed. Percy and Grover did too.

“I bet Annabeth is grinning ear to ear at being mentioned though.” Grover said.

“Are you kidding? Her head is probably blown up like a balloon.” Percy sighed, recalling the talk he and Annabeth had about hubris not too long ago.

The referee released the four balls into the circle and both teams zoomed in a kaleidoscope of blue and scarlet. Even in all the mania of the match, Percy could still pick Annabeth out of the bunch. Her blonde hair was tied back in a tight and professional ponytail that whipped in the wind. He could tell even from his position in the stands that she had her no-nonsense studying face on, except a bit pinker due to exertion.

Gryffindor scored the first point, but Annabeth and Malcolm followed up by scoring two more on their own accord. It went back and forth like that for a while.

The match went on for hours, with only a few penalties to the teams’ names too. After a while, it was easy to start slipping into sloppiness, but Ravenclaw never looked more crisp on the field, despite being wind-whipped and a bit tattered from physical attacks.

 _“Oooh that’s gotta hurt. How is that legal? Oh it’s not. Well, Annabeth, I hope you didn’t rule nose job out of the question.”_ Lou Ellen asked as Annabeth took an elbow to the nose.

Tyson rose to his feet, face red from rage, ready to brawl. “THAT GUY HURT ANNIEBETH!”

Percy and Grover quickly moved to relax Tyson. “It’s okay, look! She got to score a penalty shot.”

Percy couldn’t share Grover’s exact sentiments of relief. He could tell that her nose was bleeding and really hoped it wasn’t broken. His own heart was pounding in his chest. He couldn’t promise not to ask the Stolls to enact revenge in the form of pranks.

Annabeth, despite her injury, made the penalty shot, and the game proceeded. Gryffindor was still up by 20, but it was such a slim margin that all either team needed to do was find the snitch. That, as he knew, was easier said than done.

The match went on for 4 more hours of back and forth and the score was still razor-thin. He felt it was safe to assume that everyone was at the edge of their seats with this one.

“They’ve just gotta win,” Grover whined. “I’ve missed every other game this year and I don’t wanna see a loser!”

He didn’t have to. Around dusk, Ravenclaw’s seeker and Gryffindor’s seeker dove simultaneously for the little glimmer of gold that sparked across the growing evening sky. The air was warm and the breeze was soft as their brooms cast a swish over the crowd. Everyone leaned over their railing and the buzz in their ears drowned out Lou Ellen’s profanity as she jumped up and down in the box.

 _“AND RAVENCLAW TAKES THE WIN!”_ It was impossible to hear over the deafening cheers that radiated through the entire stadium. Everyone seemed happy that Gryffindor was getting a break from being the breakfast of champions (except them, of course). This victory would also put Ravenclaw over as the House Champions, meaning the entire castle would be donned in blue come next year.

Percy didn’t even look to see if Grover or Tyson were beside him (though by the loud stomps that Tyson made- he was certain of their proximity), because he went dashing down the steps and towards the rails closest to the field. Other students tried to push and pull their way to the front, but he was a guy with purpose and that purpose was the immediately congratulate his friend on her brilliant game of Quidditch.

Ravenclaw did a glorious victory lap around the field and their captain was handed the Cup after being passed and kissed down the line by each member of the team. Percy swore he never saw Annabeth grin wider, even with her banged up nose.

After the theatrics, they lowered themselves closer to the stadium full of fans. Annabeth, for her part, went straight for Grover, Percy, and Tyson. The entire section burst into cheers as she climbed over the railing and hugged the three of them at once. The cheering doubled when Annabeth planted a kiss on Percy’s cheek.

“I couldn’t have done it without you!” She smiled merrily.

Percy had a difficult time making it through complete sentences after that, so chose to direct his attention to his big-little brother, who was currently trying to hug the lights out of Annabeth.

“Don’t kill her, Big Guy!” He tugged on his brother’s robes, signaling for him to release her.

He still couldn’t help but grin, because they’d all come so far this year.

“You better see Madame Pomfrey for that nose, Annabeth,” Grover had always been squeamish about blood.

She shrugged, but Percy was certain she was just in a daze about winning. Annabeth never cared much for her looks anyway, though he always thought she looked good- bloody nose and all.

“Only if you guys are my dates to the celebration.”

“Deal.” Percy said.

“YAY DATES!” Tyson cheered triumphantly.

 

* * *

 

_~June~_

The end of the school year meant finals. Grover was of course exempt for the time being since he wasn’t in school the entire year, but this meant that he was also going to be presented with a hefty amount of work over the summer. Annabeth promised to help tutor him when she wasn’t spending time at her mother’s office (which was officially happening). After his finals, Percy fell onto his knees on the lawn in front of the school and welcomed the sunlight.

“I passed potions again!”

“Because of me.” Annabeth muttered.

Grover sighed. “We should let him have this. After all, he might be the prophetic child in a few years.”

Annabeth looked far off. “Yeah, I have a feeling we’re not done with Luke or Kronos.”

“Me neither.”

***

Percy was actually going to spend the first half of the summer with Grover, since his mother’s book was becoming a bestseller and he wouldn’t be able to hop around and travel with her and Gabe. The thought disgusted him anyway. He’d be glad to be spending some much-needed time with his best friend, who he missed all year long.

They were taking a nice walk together on their last day of classes, relieved to have passed them all. They took the long way through the fields and around the gardens until they stumbled upon the Shrieking Shack and where the Whomping Willow should be.

Instead, there was a girl in a golden fleece. She was rubbing her head and surrounding by other confused students. She had hair as black as Percy’s and eyes that were electric blue. Her skin was pale and she looked to be about their age- if not a year older.

“Uh, hi? Are you Thalia?” Percy asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, and who are you?” She asked groggily.

“I’m Percy Jackson. And believe me, we’ve got a lot to tell you.”

 

 

 


End file.
